Each week, we speak with cryptocurrency leaders to get their opinions, insights, and predictions about the industry. Each leader brings their own insight about different areas of the space, from wallets through to decentralisation. Below, we’ve rounded up some of the most important interviews we carried out throughout the first quarter of 2019.

Brock Pierce talks about failure, mass adoption, and being a guru

We interviewed Brock Pierce, one of the most famous names in cryptocurrency, about his work on different projects. He reflects on his level of experience and judgement that has come with an “asymmetry of information as a sector that has been around for 10 years.”

Speaking about his recently announced project, Gox Rising, Pierce says that he doesn’t fear failure. He says his failed projects, including GoCoin, are simply part of an important learning process. He encourages others not to be afraid of failure, claiming “we have the ability to change almost everything”.

Giving his opinion on topics such as regulation and mass adoption, Pierce goes on to urge people to educate regulators. Discussing the current laws, he explains they aren’t fit for purpose within the world of crypto and that the success of future legislation will rely on how well educated the legislators are.

To find out why he thinks mass adoption of cryptocurrency is still a potential, read the interview in full.

Pillar CEO David Siegel reveals complexity of operating a business in a bear market

At London Blockchain Week, we had the opportunity to sit with David Siegel, CEO of Pillar. We spoke about the difficulties he faced running a start-up during the troubled bear market. The Pillar project was created at the height of a bull market and faced a subsequent period of consolidation after raising $20 million in July 2017.

“It’s been difficult,” says David Siegel. “We held Ethereum when it was high, we tried to get out but no one was doing KYC. It was very hard as the banks kept saying no. Exchanges could exchange the Ethereum but banks wouldn’t take the money.”

Despite the ups and downs of the project, Mr Siegal remains confident about achieving his roadmap. However, he notes that the company will definitely need to raise more capital before milestones can be met. To find out how he plans on raising this, read his full interview.

DigiByte’s Josiah Spackman: So many incredible uses for blockchain and crypto

We interviewed core team member, Josiah Spackman, shortly after DigiByte’s fifth birthday. The interview explored how the cryptocurrency project is still going strong, despite existing in a turbulent market. He reveals some of the highlights and challenges the company has faced so far, including pushing barriers so DigiByte isn’t known just as a “me too” blockchain.

Spackman speaks highly of founder Jared Tate, explaining that the project is “incredibly blessed” to be ran someone who has stayed with the project throughout its duration. He also speaks favourably of Digbyte’s dedicated community who contribute their own ideas to grow DigiAssets. These contributions go to show that mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency isn’t too far away.

In his full interview, he goes on to explain that genuine education about cryptocurrency, its underlying technology, and its uses will be key to mass adoption.

“Genuine community education is the key, and teaching children/young adults through the education system will play a large role. Just as almost everybody knows how to use a web browser and email, we’ll see the same thing with blockchain and cryptocurrency over time.”

To read more of our interviews with cryptocurrency leaders, visit our dedicated section.