Bitcoin Forum

Bitcoin May Never Make It to Wall Street, But Its Tech Will

http://www.wired.com/2015/05/nasdaq-bringing-bitcoin-closer-stock-market/

James Angel compares bitcoin to MySpace, the social network that paved the way for far more influential services like Facebook and Twitter.

Today’s bitcoin digital currency, says Angel, a professor of finance at Georgetown University, is too flawed to replace existing currencies. But the basic ideas underpinning the technology, he believes, can significantly change how the financial world operates. This is already starting to happen.

Just two quotes for the professor:

‘The majority of people have no understanding of the things with which they daily meet, nor, when instructed, do they have any right knowledge of them, although to themselves they seem to have.’ — Heraclitus

‘The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds.’ — John Fitzgerald Kennedy

The John Fitzgerald Kennedy quote is best applied to him.  ;D

We have to remember that these professors are the same people who are teaching the financial principles to the failed fiat and banking systems out there.

These systems brought us close to the worlds biggest financial collapse in the history of mankind.

He is a professor in finance, not a crypto expert or a core developer or a system engineer.... I would really not lose sleep over this.  ::)   

And those flaws being...? He doesn't say. I think he could have a point that bitcoin could indeed be replaced by something better eventually and the fundamental technology behind it will go on to be used and influence other things, but people are already taking it to wallstreet like the Winkles and I think its only a matter of time before Wall Street embraces it in some way.

The Internet may never go mainstream, but TCP/IP will.

Gasoline may never go mainstream, but Automobiles will.

Electricity may never go mainstream, but lights will.

I don't really listen to these finance or economic experts as they usually don't know what the hell they're talking about. Let's see if they're right in five years time. I bet they'll all be eating their hats.


I'm not sure I get what you're saying cos all those things - gas, internet and electricity  - already seem mainstream to me.

There is little in the text that supports the headline thesis. The only valid argument is insufficient privacy in the blockchain. But there is no real privacy in the stock market anyway. If you are big enough or make friends with powerful people, you can get any information you want - just pay money to make somebody going through the revolving door, which is completely legal. And there are many other ways to retrieve secret information. The blockchain would just make it fair for all - everyone can get on the same level of information. This what the big Wall St players fear.

The other argument, that Wall St is used doing things the old fashioned way, is invalid. They were used to do floor trading between real people, but now high frequency trading took over most of the trading. The next logical step is to do the clearing over the blockchain. I understand that many on Wall St don't like that, because they can make money by playing dirty games on the traditional clearing process (e.g. naked shortselling with deliberate fail to deliver).

If you just read it without getting pissed off already, then you will see the professor doesn't say much nonsense if you ask me.

Indeed, Bitcoin MAY never reach Wall Street. But with the right people behind Bitcoin it MAY definitely be a matter of time before we see it listed there.

The only thing I don't think is right is the comparison between Myspace and Bitcoin. I would find it more appropriate if he compared Bitcoin with Facebook.

But Bitcoin is a use of the blockchain... not the other way around.

Bitcoin already reached Wall Street several times. just read the news.

even nasdaq is using BITCOINS (!) now.

Bitcoin has already made it's way to the colorful world of Wall street. In the recent times, the steady price have slowed down the process a bit. But as soon as it shows some activity, wall street might finally reveal it's influence.

I have read the article, it doesn't say Bitcoin is available to trade on Wall Street. They are just testing behind the scenes to see what the impact and benefits are.

If the price is steady, you can trust Wall Street to make it volatile by introducing derivatives and leveraged trades.
Wall Street will find a way to make money, come what may.

They're actually two sides of the same coin. <ahem>

No. They are two very different things. The Blockchain is the underlying technology. Bitcoin is simply an app using Blockchain technology.

The blockchain can drive unlimited applications without Bitcoin, but what can Bitcoin drive (or do) without the blockchain?

Name one.

Stock ownership and market transactions.

Corporate ledgers for everything from resource extraction, to processing to manufacturing, to distribution, to retail sales, to inventory, to contracts, to employment.

Intellectual property ownership and transactions.

Domain name system.

Identity verification.

Private equities

Public equities

Bonds

Derivatives (futures, forwards, swaps, options and more complex variations)

Commodities

General record keeping

Spending records

Trading records

Mortgage / loan records

Servicing records

Land titles

Vehicle registries

Business license

Business incorporation / dissolution records

Business ownership records

Regulatory records

Criminal records

Passports

Birth certificates

Death certificates

Voter IDs

Voting (political, private, public, corporate and stockholder)

Health / Safety Inspections

Building permits

Gun permits

Forensic evidence

Court records

Voting records

Non-profit records

Government/non-profit accounting/transparency

Contracts

Signatures

Wills

Trusts

Escrows

GPS trails

Degree

Certifications

Learning Outcomes

Grades

Medical records

Accounting records

Business transaction records

Genome data

Delivery records

Arbitration
 
Home / apartment keys

Vacation home / timeshare keys

Hotel room keys

Car keys

Rental car keys

Leased cars keys

Locker keys

Safety deposit box keys

Package delivery (split key between delivery firm and receiver)

Betting records

Fantasy sports records

Coupons

Vouchers

Reservations

Movie tickets

Patents

Copyrights

Trademarks

Software licenses

Videogame licenses

Music/movie/book licenses

Domain names

Online identities

Proof of authorship / Proof of prior art

Documentary records (photos, audio, video)

Data records (sports scores, temperature, etc)

Sim Cards

GPS network identity

Gun unlock codes

Weapons unlock codes

Nuclear launch codes

Spam control

Many more...

I gave you the courtesy of answering your question, but you've yet to answer mine...

What can Bitcoin drive (or do) without the Blockchain?

NOPE you failed to answer mine. without using bitcoinsbitcoins, none of those things can be secured by the Blockchain. Your question shows that I fell for your troll bait.

mortified has won.  :D

None of those I listed require bitcoins.

Have you not seen all the altcoins, none of which are bitcoin?

Anyone with the ability can also code a custom blockchain client and use private tokens in place of any coins, completely hidden from all users except administration.

They all require tokens or coins for transactions, but they don't have to be Bitcoins.

That's really the point here. Using blockchain technology without Bitcoins. Blockchain can drive unlimited apps without the need of bitcoins, but without the blockchain technology, Bitcoin can drive nothing..