Blockstream CEO Adam Back: Even Tech Experts Struggle to Grasp Bitcoin's Value

In a recent conversation with Decrypt, Blockstream CEO and early Bitcoin pioneer Adam Back expressed his continued surprise at the skepticism surrounding Bitcoin—especially from those who are best equipped to understand it.

Blockstream CEO Adam Back recently expressed his continued surprise at the skepticism surrounding Bitcoin, especially from those in the tech community who are best equipped to understand it.

In a recent interview with Decrypt, Back, a legendary figure in the crypto space and one of the few mentioned by Satoshi Nakamoto in early Bitcoin communications, highlighted a persistent disconnect. Despite having deep knowledge of the foundational technologies behind Bitcoin, many early tech adopters and even cypherpunks initially dismissed the concept.

“You understood all about code, peer-to-peer networks, privacy, public key cryptography, and secure sockets layer,” Back noted. Like, you have a huge leg up in understanding this, and you’re not interested. What gives?”

To him, the skepticism didn’t make sense. These were people who had the technical framework to grasp Bitcoin’s innovation immediately, yet many remained unconvinced.

“Some are skeptical about something that’s not physical and yet has a scarcity. But the coin is still backed by physical resources like energy and mining equipment.”

This scarcity, enforced through Bitcoin’s mining algorithm and capped supply, is in many ways more predictable and transparent than traditional monetary systems.

Back's comments highlight a theme that has long persisted in the Bitcoin community: that understanding Bitcoin requires more than just technical knowledge—it requires a shift in how we view money, trust, and value in the digital age. And even those closest to the technology sometimes miss the bigger picture.