Uphold CEO criticized for inconsistent media statements

     After the technology media Business Insider (BI) published an article recently saying that Bitcoin companies including Circle, BitPay, and Uphold are seeking to change their business models and move away from Bitcoin, the topic has sparked heated media discussions. In foreign Bitcoin communities represented by Reddit, a large number of Bitcoin fans expressed strong dissatisfaction, forcing the companies involved to issue statements to defend themselves.

One of the companies involved in the dispute is Uphold. The focus of the dispute is that the company's CEO Anthony Watson was quoted in the article saying that the "Bit" in the company's previous name, Bitreserve, has nothing to do with the "Bit" in Bitcoin, but is just the computer term "Bit" for bytes, and that he personally believes that Bitcoin will not be as important as many people think.

The remark sparked a strong public backlash, forcing Watson to respond.

Yesterday he said on his personal Twitter:

We are not walking away from Bitcoin, @UpholdInc is the cheapest place to buy Bitcoin! We have been and will always be the most bullish Bitcoin company.

But it doesn't seem to stop all kinds of sarcasm and accusations . Some of the more representative comments on Reddit are:

OutCast3k:

I hate this company. They are a bunch of double-dealers. These people don't believe in Bitcoin and don't expect Bitcoin to still exist in five years, they just want to use the Bitcoin economy to launch their company. They are so bad.

SillyBumWith7Stars:

Wow, what a hypocrite these guys are. Even though they claim to be leaving Bitcoin, they still want to make money from you. And to make money from you, they are now lying to you without even a shred of shame!

     The commenter also found Watson's previous interview with Fortune magazine, in which Watson held a relatively pessimistic view of Bitcoin, saying "I would be very surprised if Bitcoin still exists in five years."

     The commenter concluded by suggesting that users abandon Uphold and switch to a similar service:

Coinpault offers the same service but they are Bitcoin supporters, there is no reason to let a bunch of lying hypocrites in expensive suits take your money.