Those who once believed Bitcoin as the “next money” are no longer seeing its value as “money.” New “businesses” are being created one after another based on the blockchain of Bitcoin’s core technology.
On January 2, 2017, the value of Bitcoin (1BTC) exceeded 1,000 dollars (about 110,000 yen). This is the first high price since the second half of 2013.
But don’t be fooled by these flashy numbers. This unknown technology is not about to become the mainstream currency. It was a big mistake to try Bitcoin side by side with currency, says Carlson-Whee.
These voices are being heard more and more. Not only from the people around the Bitcoin community, but also from those in the center. They believe that bitcoin will never be used by the general public to buy and sell things, especially in Western Europe.
The world does not need a digital currency. With the help of debit cards, the internet, and various Smartphone services, buying things for dollars is now surprisingly easy. Even if there is a need for digital currencies, too many legal restrictions and cultural obstacles stand in the way, blocking the way Bitcoin becomes the mainstream currency.
Cryptocurrency’s new world, its unknown potential
The most popular use of Bitcoin is when it is bought and sold for investment as “digital version of “gold”. It can be said that the value of Bitcoin is rising because it is subject to speculation like precious metals. Those who think that Bitcoin will continue to rise in price are raising the price of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is also an effective way to move money across national borde
rs (Japanese article). Such usage may become mainstream in the next few years. But Carlsson-Wye finds the value of Bitcoin completely different.
To him Bitcoin is neither a new currency nor a new “gold”. It ‘s not the new form of Western Union, a US financial and telecommunications company that handles money transfers worldwide, nor a new stock. It will bring about unprecedented finance.
He believes that new blockchain-based finance will empower a business that effectively owns itself and operates autonomously.” This is a more important role than any currency. To become a bitcoin billionaire, follow the tips given here: read more
Business to automate
Carlson-Wie left Coinbase in the summer of 2016 to launch Polychain Capital. The company is a new hedge fund that aims to support new types of businesses that utilize blockchain. Polychain Capital, which received 10 million dollars (about 1.1 billion yen) from Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures, invests only in bitcoin and other “digital tokens” operated on the blockchain.
Ethereum Thanks to the platform, such as”, the spread of digital token is progressing on-line. The purpose of these tokens is not to be just digital money, but to act as something of value. For example, Ethereum can build a software program called ” Smart Contract ” that has the potential to drive the entire business.
DAO light and shadow
Carlson-Whee does not elaborate on Polychain Capital’s investment. That said, there is one example showing what type of investment he is looking at. It is a project ” Golem ” that aims to realize a “fully decentralized World Wide Web.”
It may be said that the current web is also distributed among multiple servers. However, it is operated mainly by institutions such as ICANN, and has weak points in its core. Golem, on the other hand, is trying to build a fully decentralized system to replace the current Web.
There is also Filecoin. It’s a cloud-based data storage service like Amazon, but it’s not run by Amazon or any other organization. And perhaps the most famous (at least among the Bitcoin community) is the new type of venture investment fund, The DAO, built on the Ethereum blockchain (DAO: Decentralized Autonomous Organizations).The DAO is a venture capital fund, but instead of being controlled by a specific individual (like Mark Andriesen or Peter Teal!), it is autonomously decentralized by thousands of people scattered across the Internet. .
However, The DAO is also an important example in that it shows the weaknesses of smart contracts. In June 2016, The DAO was hacked and lost $50 million worth of virtual currency.
