Post Bitcoin DevCore: Exclusive Interview With Patrick Murck
Patrick Murck, until very recently, the Executive Director of the Bitcoin Foundation, where he has served as General Counsel and continues to advise as it undergoes its recent changes. Though we chatted during and after the DevCore event, it was not until the after-party, where I managed to get some quiet time with him for a chat and an interview.
How successful do you feel DevCore London was?
Patrick Murck: I think it was a great success, we had phenomenal turnout. We actually oversold the event; we were above capacity which was very cool. It demonstrates the interest here in London to learn about Bitcoin and Block Chain technology. And take away something they can apply to their own businesses and development, I think that’s really great.
Mikes (Hearn) presentation on smart contracts and his live coding was probably the highlight for me. Especially Mike and Gavin at the end there, I think that was fantastic. The content ended up being terrific; attendance was great.
Are there any key points you hope the audience came away with?
Patrick Murck: I hope what they came away with is that bitcoin and bitcoin core, in particular, is not like some big scary project. There are things they can do to help core; there are things they can do to help bring new developers into bitcoin.
They can do code, they can help bring people up to speed on these things. And hopefully also understand some of the bigger issues, like increasing the block size, increase the scalability of the Bitcoin project.
Also Read: DevCore London – What Was It Like?
How can the media help the message of DevCore?
Patrick Murck: I think broadening awareness that would be most helpful right now. With Bitcoin Core is more Bitcoin core developers. More people working on bitcoin core, more eyes on the project, more people doing, not just the fun work, but the unit test and testing and the code review. Things like that, hopefully, the media will bring more awareness to this need to increase the pool of bitcoin core developers.
When is your rough estimated time of arrival for the next DevCore?
Patrick Murck: I don’t have an answer for this one, up to you guys.
You might be wondering why I never asked any questions about the Bitcoin Foundation. We had previously discussed it throughout the day, needless to say, Patrick is happy that it is in capable hands and he will be staying on in a voluntary manner to assist its growth and in any other matters that he can.
