By Primavera De Filippi , Wired 03.08.14 "As opposed to the other blockchain-based distributed applications described above — from messaging to contracts — Ethereum can be regarded as a kind of distributed operating system: a platform allowing for new applications to be developed upon it, so as to eventually create self-validating contracts and autonomous systems that operate directly on the blockchain."
Speaking at the Thiel Foundation Under 20 Summit, last weekend, Thiel said he gave a talk back in 1999 that mentioned the end of monetary sovereignty and how encrypted money was going to "change the world". "I do think bitcoin is the first one of these that has the potential to do something like that," he added.
Reuters 28 May Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, a top exchange for Bitcoin, the best known virtual currency, failed to register with FinCEN earlier this month and had its U.S. dollar accounts seized by authorities.
Mike Hearn3 days ago18 min read
I’ve spent more than 5 years being a Bitcoin developer. The software I’ve written has been used by millions of users, hu…
"...a crisis that reflects deep philosophical differences in how people view the world: either as one that should be ruled by a “consensus of experts”, or through ordinary people picking whatever policies make sense to them."
The “blockchain” technology that underpins bitcoin, a sort of peer-to-peer system of running a currency, is presented as a piece of innovation on a par with the introduction of limited liability for corporations, or private property rights, or the internet itself.