The Economist (October 31)
“Bitcoin’s shady image causes people to overlook the extraordinary potential of the ‘blockchain,’ the technology that underpins it.” Blockchain technology “lets people who have no particular confidence in each other collaborate without having to go through a neutral central authority” and Bitcoin’s innovation carries a significance stretching far beyond cryptocurrency. This “machine for creating trust” could eliminate the need (and cost) for institutions like banks and clearing houses that handle many existing transactions.
Tags: Authority, Banks, Bitcoin, Blockchain, Clearing houses, Confidence, Cryptocurrency, Innovation, Potential, Significance, Technology, Transactions
Euromoney (February Issue)
Those who quickly dismiss Bitcoin and other digital currencies may be overlooking their potential. “In theory, Bitcoin could serve two understated purposes: facilitating mobile transactions in emerging markets and, in the process, being a weapon in the so-called global currency war…. In fact, in some countries, as many as a fifth of respondents claimed that virtual-currency investments were a safer long-term bet than stocks and property.”
Tags: Bitcoin, Currency war, Emerging markets, Investments, Long term, Mobile transactions, Potential, Property, Respondents, Safety, Stocks, Virtual-currencies
