bitcoin

There was a slightly strange feeling to this meet up, in some ways it felt a little insular (I guess those who are actively involved with BitCoin are a small and intriguing community), but it could also just be because it was for once a crowd of folks I didn't recognise. There was an underlying feeling of "Everything old is bad" and "Everything new is good", which isn't always completely true or as black and white as that. I find Bitcoin interesting technically and as a concept, if you think about the history of money, then bitcoin is no different really, it's an agreement to trust that a concept has a mutual value between people. The money we use everyday is no different from BitCoin really, it's just decentralised. This could be an entire post in itself, so take a read of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_money" target="_blank">Wikipedia's History of Money article</a>. Back to tonight, which contained several interesting discussions:<ul><li>BitCoin Point of sale units - These are emerging in a couple of places, such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2013/jun/23/britains-first-bitcoin-pub" target="_blank">pubs in the UK</a>, but also soon to arrive here thanks to Mikey Nelson.</li><li>How useful BitCoin could be for foreign travel and exchange</li><li>A Bitcoin association is being founded in Australia</li><li>The BitCoin ATM, a <a href="https://lamassu.is/" target="_blank">Lamasu</a></li><li>If you want BitCoins to be accepted in certain stores, then ask for it, if more ask, the more chance it will happen.</li><li>Apparently Elsternwick high st may be attempting a street wide acceptance of BitCoin.</li></ul> Interested in knowing more, then join the Melbourne BitCoin meet up - <a href="https://www.meetup.com/BitcoinMelbourne" target="_blank">meetup.com/BitcoinMelbourne</a>

Check out a key interview with one of the key developers behind the Apache Web Server about the Hyperledger Foundation, which aims to bring blockchain mainstream.

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In this 25-minute podcast/panel discussion, four Blockchain luminaries talk about how to bring smart contract ideas to reality.