Bitcoin Forum

Bitcoin vs. Blockchain: Inside Bitcoin Speakers Weigh In

Bitcoin startups (and the inevitable venture capital funding), have seen a trend away from Bitcoin and a new focus on the underlying technology, the blockchain. Are these indicators that spell the end of Bitcoin, or just a short-lived fad?


The blockchain right now is used for storing transaction information from the blocks miners mine, creating a chain of blocks (hence the name). Transactions are secured based on how many “confirmations” they have, or how many blocks in the past it was broadcast to the network. Once six confirmations for a specific transaction has been reached, it is considered to be digitally set in stone.

The blockchain has always had the ability to append additional information into blocks, such as what BTC (blockchain technology corporation) is doing with their blockchain-based voting machine, as well as allowing users to build layers on top of the blockchain, in the form of colored coins and other digital assets.

The blockchain movement is not limited to Bitcoin startups either, with companies like NASDAQ, VISA, and American Express venturing into blockchain. R3, a coalition of over 20 of the biggest international banks, is a huge testament of how seriously the financial industry is taking blockchain technology. Unfortunately for Bitcoin, most of these institutions are interested only in the blockchain, so steps toward making their own “permissioned ledger” are occurring in an attempt to remove Bitcoin entirely out of the equation.

With less talk about Bitcoin as a currency, and more about the blockchain, some wonder if this is the beginning of the end of Bitcoin as a monetary vehicle.

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