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" Bitcoin and the whole discussion around it shows how big a need there is for innovation about what money is and how it is stored. "

Taavet Hinrikus

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" People need the financial sector to be safe; people also need the financial sector to go through a massive phase of innovation. That means delivering on the positive rhetoric, like around settlement accounts, not allowing Open Banking to be diluted, and leading the way on AML. "

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" If the hard Brexit happens, I would assume that London wouldn't be the centre of the tech world in Europe. "

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" A seed depends on a whole host of factors to grow - from the fertility of the soil to the right mix of rain and sun to not being eaten by a passing bird. The same goes for an idea. For an idea to really take hold, other factors come into play, from timing to the emerging technology that makes it possible. "

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" If we think about how long Google spent searching - I think they came around in '98? And, OK, Gmail came in 2004, but it was literally built by one engineer as a 20%-time project. It was probably 10 years before Google started diversifying. "

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" Companies that are natively technology-focused I would trust more than a bank. "

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" To be a global business, you need access to the best talent from around the world - fix this, everything else falls into place. Whether it's homegrown or imported, we don't mind where it comes from - we just want the best. "

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" The fact that Skype was founded in Estonia, the fact that Skype had a successful exit, which meant that Estonia benefited in a major way, meant that entrepreneurship became legitimate. There were more than a thousand people who either worked or had worked at Skype who had seen what it takes to build a global business. "

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" Bitcoin, I think we can say, is dead. "

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" As consumers in general, and with Millennials in particular, we're getting used to everything being cheaper, faster, better - and banks aren't keeping up. "

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" Most banks tell their customers that they only pay a small upfront fee for international payments. But in reality, customers pay much more. "

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" When a new hire is afraid to roll up their sleeves and get things done, it's a clear sign it's not going to work out. "

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" Maybe I think too highly of myself, but I think maybe sometimes I can give some good advice - sometimes bad advice, I'm sure - and I think that's a way of giving back. "

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" We built TransferWise focused on customer innovation. That means we build our product based first and foremost on our customers. "

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" I get a kick out of helping the next generation of founders. "

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" With a smartphone, we have a supercomputer in our pocket and are always connected. The way we bank is changing as part of this macro trend. "

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" Building a business is a marathon, not a sprint. I don't believe it when people tell me they've been working 80-hour weeks for five years in a row. I just don't think that's possible. "

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" As a consumer, I'm definitely waiting for what's going to come after banks. "

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" I spent my workdays at Skype creating a more connected world. We were shrinking the distances between people, making it easier to connect across countries. Then I'd go to my bank to transfer my euros to pounds, and it was like going back in time 50 years: expensive, inconvenient, and painfully slow. It was a nightmare. "

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" People bought bitcoin because they thought it would be worth more tomorrow. And a lot of people got lucky. But we're not seeing real people use bitcoin. And we don't know what problem it solves. Now, blockchain, I think, is a genius advancement in technology. "

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" Traditional consumer finance has been unfair for decades. Banks have had a monopoly on financial services and have been able to overcharge and underserve consumers. "

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" At TransferWise, we started out as - and continue as - idealists. We start with what we can do to make things better and how we can solve problems, focusing on what people need. It turns out you can focus on building the best service and be successful as business. "

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" International money transfer is a massive consumer rip-off. Banks and companies like Western Union have gotten away with it for too long. "

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" I was pretty vocal about being anti-Brexit before the referendum vote. "

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" We're living in a world where international governance is failing to overcome borders, but technology is succeeding in removing them. "

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