This Investor Thinks Bitcoin Will Change EVERYTHING — Not Just Finance

[sonofacoin]

Business Insider

But Monegro argues that these technical underpinnings of the Bitcoin system may have more long-term potential than the currency itself.

That's because the block chain is not controlled by any one person or entity, and information in it is freely available to other software programs. So programmers are starting to build things on top of the block chain that have nothing to do with digital currency.

For instance, some programmers have developed a protocol called La'Zooz for real-time ride sharing. That could eventually disrupt Uber. Others have created OpenBazaar, a protocol for a peer-to-peer trading network that could disrupt eBay. Both use the block chain for some basic computing tasks.

Here's a simple way of thinking about it. The block chain itself is immutable, like bedrock. Bitcoin is like a building on top of that bedrock — it has a foundation on which programmers have defined some of the basics of how it works, then a bunch of stories on top of that in which people interact with it.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-bitcoin-could-change-everything-not-just-finance-2014-12#ixzz3KkANKMnD

[dasource]

Just wait and see what happens when SideChains hit the mainnet ...

You should also look up trade-net, good video here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu4PAMFPo5Y (very forward blue sky thinking but it shows you the opportunities the block chain brings)

[BitmoreCoin]

BTC is just a foundation. Many things can build on it.

[jyakulis]

did altruistic aliens really develop the blockchain?

[TrailingComet]

Maybe so but it's still worth remembering that there is no secure blockchain without the value inherent in the token "bitcoin"
They are inseparable

[cr1776]

Just wait and see what happens when SideChains hit the mainnet ...

You should also look up trade-net, good video here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu4PAMFPo5Y (very forward blue sky thinking but it shows you the opportunities the block chain brings)

This.

There are many cool and useful things about the technology, but sidechains will be very important.

[LiteCoinGuy]

i love that picture 

[theblacksquid]

It's better to read the post that article is based off from. There are too many glaring errors in that report.

[yayayo]

Maybe so but it's still worth remembering that there is no secure blockchain without the value inherent in the token "bitcoin"
They are inseparable

Yes, I don't understand why people can say the currency function has a less bright future than the blockchain when all the security of the blockchain actually depends on the value of the currency, because it triggers the motivation to mine and secure the network.

Of course the blockchain technology can be replicated, but any replication will be less secure if there's less value attached to the replication.

I think the relationship between value, security, and usage is in fact self-reinforcing:

more security  >   more
         ^                    usage
more value      <
                                            
                                          
ya.ya.yo!

[UnunoctiumTesticles]

Maybe so but it's still worth remembering that there is no secure blockchain without the value inherent in the token "bitcoin"
They are inseparable

Yes, I don't understand why people can say the currency function has a less bright future than the blockchain when all the security of the blockchain actually depends on the value of the currency, because it triggers the motivation to mine and secure the network.

Also note that OpenBazaar is putting all their long-term persistent data on the Bitcoin blockchain. All these various block chain apps can't make their own block chain, because they wouldn't have sufficient hashrate to protect from 51% attacks. It is much more likely that only one or just a few block chains will win and all these apps win run on them.

http://www.wired.com/2014/04/darkmarket

OpenBazaar is a cool idea, but so far the design is such that your store only stays up if you computer is always online. I think they need to put all the store items on a block chain. But I don't think they can do that using the Bitcoin block chain.

Yet another reason Bitcoin's block chain is not sufficient to do everything we need to do.