THE NEW KID ON


THE BLOCK It was meant to be the future, the Libertarian ideal designed to take control away from Government, a decentralised currency, the zenith of Anarcho-Capitalism.


Power to the people! Quietly simmering away on the fringes of society since its initial release in 2009, Bitcoin’s journey took a turn towards the mainstream sometime at the start of 2017. Ever the darling of the cryptocurrency arena, what seemingly ensued for Bitcoin was a classic tale of speculation.


 media attention ‘Bitcoin Breaks $10k!!’, enthusiasm as discussions across  delusion as stories of bits of bitcoin purchased via credit card started to emerge and celebrity endorsements became the norm (the modern day shoe shiners?). Finally a new paradigm was reached, December 2017 and the high water mark of $19783.12.


A rise to greatness so sharp in its nature, unstoppable from the end of the stealth phase right to the end of the mania phase. The greatest bubble in history some say, or one of the great tragedies, misunderstood from the outset and manhandled by the mob.


Instead of decentralising, it encouraged centralisation. Some 80% of “mining” operations were domiciled in China, for instance, where the energy infrastructure (25% of worlds power output) capable of keeping up with the computational power required to mine meets nicely with a low dollar cost per coin. Not only a massive energy drain but a consolidation of power, so to speak, very much at odds with Bitcoins libertarian core. Beijing has now made moves to ban mining operations.


 would make even the hardiest volatility trader wince. As a medium of exchange I hear at the back? Possibly for ordering a latte in Copenhagen, a city which has embraced bitcoin like no other, with a whopping 28 independent outlets willing to accept it! Elsewhere in the real world? You will be lucky! For example of the 27339 Starbucks globally, you guessed it, none currently accept bitcoin, with CEO Shultz condemning bitcoin (but not Blockchain) from its future strategy.


16 | ADMISI - The Ghost In The Machine | March/April 2018


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32