It has been described as a "techno tour de force" by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and as a "remarkable cryptographic achievement…that has enormous value" by Google CEO, Eric Schmidt. It was even predicted by Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman in 1999 when he said, "The one thing that’s missing, but will soon be developed, is a reliable e-cash."
Friedman was a visionary, and in this instance he was a decade ahead of the rest, foreseeing the advent of digital currency, and more specifically, bitcoin.
http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-explained-global-currency-wall-street-veteran/