Bitcoin Plaza

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Op-ED: Why Bitcoin and War Don’t Mix

Conflict gives Bitcoin an opportunity, the traditional perspective goes – but in the current world of conflict, it could well be argued that economics are being overlooked, and that Bitcoin’s real spo

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Georgia Tech Partners with BitPay: Accepts Bitcoin at Stadium, On Campus

Georgia Tech and BitPay are joining forces to bring Bitcoin payments to the campus. Bitcoin is going to college.

New Bitcoin ATMs: CoinOutlet Launches Huge ATM Network, and Machines Come to Lisbon, Zagreb

The universe of Bitcoin ATMs (or BTMs, if you prefer) is growing at an increasing rate, and there are some interesting developments to report.

CoinOutlet to Launch the World’s Largest Bitcoin ATM Network

Some interesting news was received from CoinOutlet, a startup company wishing to manufacture and operate AML / KYC cryptocurrency ATMs.

Bitcoin’s Impact on the Online Gaming Industry

The rise of the free and open Internet since the early 1990s has led the gambling industry to expand its reach further into new markets. Despite strict and heavy regulatory policies, online gambling firms have managed to comply with a seemingly endless barrage of tighter gambling laws. Likewise, new payment systems have emerged that provide easier ways to lure people into making more bets. One such scheme is the introduction of Bitcoin, which is an open-source system using peer-to-peer technology for online payments. This type of payment system has the ability to bypass certain restrictions in online gambling all over the world, making it a potentially profitable betting tool for online casinos and gamblers.

Placing bets

The advantages of using Bitcoin involve its steadily growing status as a cost-efficient form of cryptocurrency. The main benefit focuses on the cost of making a Bitcoin transaction. Since it is relatively cheap to make a single transaction, more operators are exploring the idea of using them. Bitcoin’s affordable transaction prices contribute to the existence of a viable business model that offers low commissions. Although Bitcoin gambling represents a small fraction of the revenues from online gambling, the industry is pushing to make it more mainstream due to its cost-efficiency.

In 2012, the global market for online gambling recorded €21.73 billion in gross winnings, according to research firm H2 Gambling Capital. By 2015, a 9.13% compound annual growth rate is expected to occur, the company said. This projection is supported by the growing number of demands from consumers to launch new types of gambling platforms such as Bitcoin casinos. SoftSwiss CEO Ivan Montik is one of those that has felt the increase in demand. Montik’s company specialises in online casino software and bitcoin gambling solutions. “We’ve got about 400 requests for the launch of a bitcoin casino in the last six months,” he added. “We constantly have three to five casinos in the set-up phase, and could have had more if we had more resources.”

Other groups such as online sports betting site BitcoinSportsbooks.com have already expressed their confidence in the arrival of Bitcoin as an innovation in online gambling. “The smart money is on a Bitcoin gambling revolution,” according to the website. “It’s time for gamblers to cash in their chips and start mining their Bitcoins because cryptocurrency is about to make conventional money a spent force in gambling.”

Bitcoin may be receiving a lot of hype, but several challenges still face the peer-to-peer technology. As mentioned earlier, regulation will play a key role in the advancement of cryptocurrency. In the U.S., players are forbidden by the law to use bank-processed payments for their online bets. Some gambling entrepreneurs, however, have managed to establish cryptocurrency-based gambling sites such as the Seals with Clubs.

“It would be trivial to circumvent some ban. Seals is open to the world. There’s no banking

at all done on the site. It’s a pure bitcoin poker site, so this is a totally brand new thing,” said Bryan Micon, the website’s manager. ”It’s only been a few years for the legal world and there’s nothing at all that says anything about this protocol.”

A Magna Carta for Bitcoin

The Constitution is a living document. The Bible is a living document. The manifesto for the Pepsi logo is a living document and the Bitcoin white paper is breath, a breath of fresh air. Yes, this document is a representation of pure mathematical truth; however, I believe we are at fault if we are to assume “truth” is ubiquitously understood by the masses, or, that the white paper is a system of values and virtues the masses can empathize with.

The majority of the world does not look to the white paper as a guideline for anything more than rational knowledge due to the very nature of math as an emotionless concept for anyone who is not a mathematician. Distilling the logic in the Bitcoin white paper into an emotional concept is necessary to resonate with a core of human truth in order for us to progress, unified, to move the hearts of the masses toward action based on our collective understanding of good and evil. This form of intrinsic resonance is necessary to create mass human force behind any movement.

Every great declaration of thought and leadership throughout the history of humanity has had a document of reference for people aligning with the ideal. One of the largest differences between high value institutions offering education and the run of the mill solution is, other than the network, their ability to provide a framework of values for people to think about success while instructing how and why to think instead of what. Shaping the character of Bitcoin to align the people with a common set of virtues is necessary if we want to shape mass understanding concerning how and why Bitcoin and the blockchain evolve the very nature of the way the world works. Aligning universal maxims within the community amidst growing tension is absolutely fundamental if we want the “whats” being built on top of this invention to have substantial impact.

Why has Bitcoin been philosophized as the end to the deep institutional problems created by established infrastructures in an age of creativity and decentralization if the Bitcoin community at large is going to draw their lines divided instead of united to progress a common cause?

If I may make a suggestion, why not scrap the scrabbles and work together to remind everyone why, among many reasons, this invention has risen to prominence when the idea of apolitical currency has been around for over 280 years?

Many people have given critical feedback to the idea of “Bitcoin as a Brand” simply because it is not seen as a consumer good. If you take this stance, I have to fundamentally negate your understanding of branding. Advertising and marketing are mechanisms for people to communicate value, values and character to society at large.

You are a brand. That cup on your table is a brand. Traditional banks are a brand and Bitcoin is a brand. While the technology of Bitcoin is not in and of itself a company, we need to take great care to ensure the underlying philosophy of the invention is preserved throughout the evolution of the idea.

Virtues of Bitcoin

Equality

We have often labeled Bitcoin as the solution to end mechanisms of power which have abused their stronghold. However, the solution to fear based problems is not more fear. Instead of inspiring alarm concerning economic chaos and job disruption for people who are ingrained in these systems, some of whom have dedicated their lives to the success of these power institutions, we should label the invention, Bitcoin, for what it truly is: the ability to curate a modern financial equality for a global economy of abundance.

Equality means distributed, decentralized power.

This does not mean we should obviate and destroy the past to make a better future. Change takes time and to make the future we want to see into a reality peacefully, we should work together, transparently.

If global currencies who operate within the borders of a nation state implement the blockchain technology into their national mechanisms of value transfer, they would be able to help prevent the major losses from problems like rampant corruption, traffic from submerged markets and tax evasion; the global economy suffered $3.1 trillion of loss due to tax evasion in 2011 alone. Shared goals using technology as a bridge between the past and the future can create a more equal marketplace for both states and citizens.

Trust

Why should Bitcoin rise to prominence at this moment in time when the idea of digital money has been working toward perfection for approximately 40 years? After the financial crisis of 2007-2008, I believe we, as a human race, collectively decided a revolutionary solution was necessary to implement changes – changes the systems in charge were not capable of providing, to create a new form of trust through mathematical truth.

Financial institutions of the future will be heavily weighted on the amount of trust they are able to instill in consumers when dealing with their money.

We may not be able to place trust in institutions with systemic inefficiencies and darwinian principles of survival built into their culture. We may not be able to place trust in institutions who have to take advantage of their complexity by charging the unaware, uninformed and disempowered. However, one thing remains certain: I believe we can trust people, the internet, and math. No matter how hard anyone tries, 1+1 will never equal 247.

Redefining Convention

Bitcoin is not normal, but neither is anyone. Bitcoin is not hard to grasp: everyone should try it. Bitcoin, for the majority audience, is like the first time you ever saw a shooting star. You couldn’t quite describe what it was or why it happened, however, you knew there was something magical behind it. Bitcoin evolves dated maxims of past ideologies to create a new foundation for the modern open source world to build upon. The majority audience doesn’t necessarily need to understand the intricate details of how Bitcoin works, just as the majority of people will never truly understand the intricate algorithm involved each time they perform a google search. People should want know how this invention changes their lives and the lives of humans around the globe for the better of humanity. People will be interested in knowing how this invention benefits their lives personally and helps them to participate in a culture which gives them meaning and a community to align their identity with.

Human

(humanity, peer-to-peer exchange)

While the idea may be digital, the purpose is fundamentally human. Bitcoin is Digital Money anyone can use. Bitcoin, as a human brand, is building a framework for a modern economy of universal financial inclusion, creating new reliance mechanisms for human beings who have been disempowered by the actions of their government and simultaneously developing a method for value to be exchanged, human-to-human. The underlying technology of Bitcoin may be one of the ultimate technological advancements of this age, but the perception of the brand is, should be, and should feel like a human being.

Bitcoin is mathematical truth, logical truth which needs to align with a series of universal maxims which we can all support in unity as a Bitcoin community, as a human race.

To move forward in the development of this brand, we need to work united by shared ideals to define tangible goals, strategies and tactics to progress our shared vision of evolving Bitcoin into a true revolution for the financial systems of this world.

Please let me know in the comments section if any virtue and value which is critical to evolution of Bitcoin as an emotionally resonant, human brand is not included in this article.

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