The Big Three in Crypto: Bitcoin, Ripple and Ethereum

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cryptocurrency_logos.jpg 

In the beginning, there was Bitcoin, then came Ripple, and then Ethereum. Along the way, many others came and went as cryptocurrency and blockchain protocols moved from the fringe to the mainstream, but these are still arguably the top three.

Cryptocurrency shares the fundamental definition of all forms of money: it is a medium of exchange, a measure of value, and a store of value. What sets it apart from fiat currency, though, is the following:

1. It has no physical form and exists solely as a digital bit of data.

2. It is not issued by a government entity.

3. It is completely decentralized and clears transactions through network consensus rather than through the authorization of a central bank.

4. Transactions cannot be reversed or charged back as is the case for those cleared by banks.

Beginning with Bitcoin

Though there had been some plans for a system of digital currency set out in the late 20th century, for the early part of the 21st century, the Bitcoin system and its currency unit, bitcoin or BTC was synonymous with cryptocurrency.

In October 2008, the name Satoshi Nakamoto appeared on the paper, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, which explained how the setup of blockchain technology was used in the cryptocurrency.

A blockchain is a decentralized ledger that allows a peer-to-peer network to obtain confirmation of transactions without waiting on a central clearing authority.

Read more in  The Differences Between the Top 3 Cryptocurrencies

Related posts:  Is Digital Currency Catching On?

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If you're wondering about Bitcoin

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Bitcoin_logo.svg/1024px-Bitcoin_logo.svg.png

I've written quite a number of articles about the potential of digital currency, most of them for CoinDesk, but also for CFO. EETimes, and  EBN.

Find out why alpacas became an official mascot for Bitcoin and how the the “Casascius” got its name. You can even learn about the history of currency in real life and why metal and paper currency isn't practical on the final frontier.

The URL,which was first put up very long form was changed on my article. Here's the new one: http://ww2.cfo.com/it-value/2013/09/is-digital-currency-catching-on/http://

I took this picture at the Bitcoin Conference

on/ … #bitcoin #Ripple #CFO

Bitcoin: the stereotype, reality, and possibilities

Bitcoin wants to emerge from its somewhat shady reputation as a currency for folks with something to hide and become a useful tool for legitimate business. Some say it can even do more -- like alleviate poverty and disease in Third World countries. Read more in 

Bitcoin: A Stereotype & a Possibility

Dictionary updates

The Oxford English Dictionary wants to show itself to be keeping up with trends and trendy words, some of which  you may wish you never heard of. Its blog has post Buzzworthy words added to Oxford Dictionaries Online – squee! has been paraphrased by a number of other online news sources already. But odds are good that this is the only one not to include a picture of Miley Cyrus demonstrating a move in the not Disney approved dance known as twerk (one of the additions).

Those who are interested in the digital currency movement may be happy to see that bitcoin makes it in (in the lower case form).  And in a nod to something that's been practically beaten to death in tech circles, BYOD is there. It's intersting to see how many of these are underlined by Blogger's spell check, about half I'd say, including the title's own "squee" and "selfie," another word we may wish we didn't have to have.
Here's the full list of Oxford's updates.

apols

A/W

babymoon

balayage

bitcoin

blondie

buzzworthy

BYOD

cake pop

chandelier earring

click and collect

dappy

derp

digital detox

double denim

emoji

fauxhawk

FIL

flatform

FOMO

food baby

geek chic

girl crush

grats

guac

hackerspace

Internet of things

jorts

LDR

me time

MOOC

omnishambles

pear cider

phablet

pixie cut

selfie

space tourism

squee

srsly

street food

TL;DR

twerk

unlike 

Don't leave earth without it

Whether it will be in just a matter of years or of decades, the possibility of regular people taking trips into space the same way they travel to the far reaches of the globe could become a reality within our lifetime. The question is: when you set off for such a trip, what do you pack along for money?
While previous generations may have packed travelers’ cheques, such paper relics just don’t seem to fit in with the space age. The only feasible solution to the problem of payments in, to, and from space, is a digital one. PayPal believes it will handle that problem with its introduction of PayPal Galactic.  But that answer raises a number of other questions. Read more here

Related post: http://writewaypro.blogspot.com/2013/05/star-trek-and-final-frontier-of-currency.html

How I ended up writing about alpacas is explained here

It's due to the connection made between them and Bitcoin.

So how did this less-than-obvious pairing begin? The Grass Hill Alpacas farm in Haydenville, Massachusetts is owned by Jim and Nancy Forster. It was their son, David Forster, who convinced them to accept bitcoins. Forster, who calls himself a “self-taught economist,” claims the distinction of being the first merchant to sell a product for bitcoins. 
Read more in 

Alpacas: the unofficial mascot of bitcoin?

Star Trek and the final frontier of currency

Yes, I did get paid to write about Star Trek, at least in terms of envisioning money in the future in works of science fiction. I also mention Star Wars and The Handmaid's Tale.

 Part of the geek appeal for Bitcoin users is that it is a real-life example of a concept often featured in science fiction or sci-fi-oriented computer games: an advanced, universally accepted form of currency.

Universally accepted forms of payments become essential in a society in which space travel enables humans – and other sentient beings – to hop from planet to planet inhabited by civilizations of all kinds. Read more in Is Bitcoin science fiction come to life?

Living the libertarian dream on the sea?

The #libertarian  connection of seasteaders and #bitcoin
Bitcoin represents more than a digital currency. For many adopters, it is a means of breaking free of government and financial institutions’ control over money.

The Seasteading Institute’s philosophy dovetails with the views Thiel espoused in an April 2009 essay for the Cato Institute, “The Education of a Liberatarian.” In that piece, he declares that libertarians must get beyond restrictive government systems by finding a place of their own:

“The critical question then becomes one of means, of how to escape not via politics but beyond it. Because there are no truly free places left in our world, I suspect that the mode for escape must involve some sort of new and hitherto untried process that leads us to some undiscovered country; and for this reason I have focused my efforts on new technologies that may create a new space for freedom.”

 Read more in Why do 'Seasteaders' Love Bitcoin?