Most, if not all, fiat currencies are issued and “backed” by the government that issues them. This type of enforcement based backing is called de jure law. This just means that something is enforced by a legal system with courts and law enforcement that those courts operate. Bitcoin is unique because it is enforced by […]
For some countries, more money comes in through remittance payments than through trade. These remittance corridors are some of the most profitable and busiest payment networks in the world. Several large financial institutions have made it their core business model to help make remittance payments possible but their days may be numbered if they don’t […]
When money first began, it had all sorts of forms. Some societies used seashells while others used whales teeth. Some even used large stones that came from a nearby island that took immense amounts of effort and energy to acquire. One thing that all of these early forms of money had in common was that […]
Historically speaking, money has almost always been issued by those who rule but Bitcoin is slowly changing that. Rather than money being issued by centralized entities such as banks or governments, money is now able to be produced by decentralized systems like Bitcoin. This might not seem like such an amazing invention but as time […]
Physical money like coins have been a staple of monetary systems since metals have been being forged. One of the reasons why coins have been the basis of such great money systems is because coins cannot be printed into existence on a whim. It requires lots of work to produce coins which is exactly what […]
As Bitcoin’s price continues to climb, it helps to understand one of the basic principles that cause this to happen. While there are a number of reasons why Bitcoin has value, the primary cause of the price continually climbing is that the demand is growing faster than the supply. The Supply of Bitcoin One of […]
Artificial intelligence is going to be a big part of the future. From computer scripts that automate tasks at the office to self-checkout at the grocery store, automation is already a big part of our daily lives. Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) is all around us but how will artificial intelligence use money? The Internet […]
One of the most common misconceptions that I hear in the bitcoin space is that “If you don’t spend your bitcoins, then it will never reach mainstream adoption”. While it’s good to use your bitcoins as a medium of exchange, the only way that mainstream adoption will ever be possible is if someone else first […]
Since Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA has been conducting mass surveillance of not only US citizens but of citizens all around the world, there has been a substantial increase in the adoption of end-to-end encryption. These new encryption tools have made privacy so robust that now anyone with a smartphone, has access to more […]
The internet is a global economy that transcends nation states and political borders. PayPal, Square and other FinTech companies have enabled entrepreneurs around the world to transact business electronically but these services along with all other payment networks are centrally operated and subject to countless laws across a multitude of jurisdictions. What the internet needs […]