Qualcomm funds startup to use Bitcoin for Internet of Things

[Raystonn]

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/03/10/secretive-bitcoin-startup-21-reveals-record-funds-hints-at-mass-consumer-play/

Qualcomm's chips represent a large portion of the cell phone market.  They intend to bring their cellular chip technology to all manner of interconnected things, and use the Bitcoin blockchain to do so.

[Bit_Happy]

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/03/10/secretive-bitcoin-startup-21-reveals-record-funds-hints-at-mass-consumer-play/

Qualcomm's chips represent a large portion of the cell phone market.  They intend to bring their cellular chip technology to all manner of interconnected things, and use the Bitcoin blockchain to do so.

This could be one of the biggest stories in the history of Bitcoin.
We are seeing Bitcoin explode onto the global stage!

[_AquaRegia]

[Suspicious link removed]j.com/digits/2015/03/10/secretive-bitcoin-startup-21-reveals-record-funds-hints-at-mass-consumer-play/

Qualcomm's chips represent a large portion of the cell phone market.  They intend to bring their cellular chip technology to all manner of interconnected things, and use the Bitcoin blockchain to do so.

The Internet of Things is probably the stupidest idea today, I hate to see it get associated with Bitcoin

[gentlemand]

[Suspicious link removed]j.com/digits/2015/03/10/secretive-bitcoin-startup-21-reveals-record-funds-hints-at-mass-consumer-play/

Qualcomm's chips represent a large portion of the cell phone market.  They intend to bring their cellular chip technology to all manner of interconnected things, and use the Bitcoin blockchain to do so.

The Internet of Things is probably the stupidest idea today, I hate to see it get associated with Bitcoin

Be careful what you type. In a few years time if your home appliances don't like your attitude they'll be able to put out a hit on you before you can turn them off.

[billyjoeallen]

[Suspicious link removed]j.com/digits/2015/03/10/secretive-bitcoin-startup-21-reveals-record-funds-hints-at-mass-consumer-play/

Qualcomm's chips represent a large portion of the cell phone market.  They intend to bring their cellular chip technology to all manner of interconnected things, and use the Bitcoin blockchain to do so.

The Internet of Things is probably the stupidest idea today, I hate to see it get associated with Bitcoin

The way IoT is described and understood today IS stupid, kind of like the "information superhighway" description in the early 1990s. But there is real, almost infinite potential in pieces of code doing business with other pieces of code (not toasters) and the blockchain is almost ideal for that kind of app.

[Kipsy89]

I really don't know how many of these companies really want to use the *Bitcoin* blockchain, or just the general idea of a blockchain technology... But you need some incentive to keep the Blockchain decentralized, so a monetary reward (BTC) seems fitting!

[gentlemand]

I really don't know how many of these companies really want to use the *Bitcoin* blockchain, or just the general idea of a blockchain technology... But you need some incentive to keep the Blockchain decentralized, so a monetary reward (BTC) seems fitting!

Assuming BTC can scale then you'd be pretty brave/confident/insane to stake your operations on any other chain than that assuming it might be vulnerable in any way. It's the bulletproof daddy of them all.

[Denker]

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/03/10/secretive-bitcoin-startup-21-reveals-record-funds-hints-at-mass-consumer-play/

Qualcomm's chips represent a large portion of the cell phone market.  They intend to bring their cellular chip technology to all manner of interconnected things, and use the Bitcoin blockchain to do so.

He knew it.
Listen 25:00 to 26:35!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9npQ5f74Nr4#t=25m00

At 26:20 he said:"Bitcoin protocol being embedded in chips.Chips that can't be modified very easily!"

[dsly]

I am still curious about what exactly is the company going to come out with ?
The site only indicates miners for now.

[Raystonn]

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/03/10/secretive-bitcoin-startup-21-reveals-record-funds-hints-at-mass-consumer-play/

Qualcomm's chips represent a large portion of the cell phone market.  They intend to bring their cellular chip technology to all manner of interconnected things, and use the Bitcoin blockchain to do so.

He knew it.
Listen 25:00 to 26:35!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9npQ5f74Nr4#t=25m00

At 26:20 he said:"Bitcoin protocol being embedded in chips.Chips that can't be modified very easily!"

This argues for fixing the block size limit in a scalable way asap.  Don't wait until the protocol is embedded in an immutable chip.  Andreas has insight into some of these things, and he is under NDA and thus cannot share his reasoning for pushing so quickly.

[Zangelbert Bingledack]

The way IoT is described and understood today IS stupid, kind of like the "information superhighway" description in the early 1990s. But there is real, almost infinite potential in pieces of code doing business with other pieces of code (not toasters) and the blockchain is almost ideal for that kind of app.

The basic use case I imagine is the situation where two machines with two different owners are drawing from the same utility, say electric power, being offered by a third party. Suppose there isn't enough to power both of them. How are the machines to decide who gets priority in receiving the power?

Well, if the owner of Machine 1 has a high preference for the machine to run uninterrupted (say a server), even if it were to be expensive, he can pre-allocate some spending money to the machine, as an insurance policy in case of power shortages. Meanwhile, the owner of Machine 2, maybe a poorer person or maybe someone who cares less if their machine's operations were temporarily interrupted (say a clothes dryer), would not do this. In fact, they may even allow their machine to sell excess power if someone is paying enough for it.

Then the person who values the resource more can pay for it, enriching others who value the resource less.

This could be for electricity, for driverless cars negotiating right of way on the road for users of different income classes or different time preferences (rushing to the hospital vs. someone just going shopping), or for any other rivalrous good.

So it's basically a way to make machines more effective agents on the owners' behalf. Whereas before any situation that required a monetary transfer in order to effectuate a mutually beneficial deal would have required the owners to negotiate directly. If the matter is too trifling, it would just be annoying and a waste of time to negotiate. Instead, have your machines do it. They couldn't do this before, not just because they weren't interconnected, but also because they have no way of transferring value to each other.

Bitcoin enables this. And the scale can be extremely small, so that even the slightest possibility of mutually beneficial trade is capitalized on.

IoT by itself enables this to happen within one's own property, like the different appliances in your own house, because no other owners are involved so no money needs to change hands. The dishwasher doesn't mind taking a 5-minute break to give extra power to another appliance that needs it. It needs no monetary compensation, because the owner owns both appliances.

It's when this kind of exchange happens with someone else, especially a total stranger, that it becomes necessary for money to change hands.

Now some people imagine this as heaven for the rich, like if for example a rich driver could flip all the red lights green. How sucky would that be if you had to wait at extra-long reds? But no. You had already preset the amount you were willing to pay in bidding for the traffic light to change, and it was far less...but more importantly you get paid for your waiting time. If it's not worth your while to wait and get paid today, just set your asking price higher (a dial just for this purpose is on your dashboard). You only wait if the other driver is offering enough to make you interested in waiting.

This guarantees that everyone benefits from the deal. If the rich driver ultimately wins out and gets the light flipped, everyone else - by hypothesis - gets at least enough money to make it worth their while. Of course the more crowded the intersection the more the rich driver would have to pay, but some will. Everyone is better off, because goods (in this case road space and right of way) are allocated most efficiently by the price system.

[RodeoX]

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/03/10/secretive-bitcoin-startup-21-reveals-record-funds-hints-at-mass-consumer-play/

Qualcomm's chips represent a large portion of the cell phone market.  They intend to bring their cellular chip technology to all manner of interconnected things, and use the Bitcoin blockchain to do so.

This could be one of the biggest stories in the history of Bitcoin.
We are seeing Bitcoin explode onto the global stage!

Bit_Happy, I think your on to something.  This looks like a new phase. If I'm guessing their intent correctly, they are creating hardware for the coming bitcoin economy. That's a big investment and vote of confidence over just accepting them for payment. It's all happening so fast!

[brg444]

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/03/10/secretive-bitcoin-startup-21-reveals-record-funds-hints-at-mass-consumer-play/

Qualcomm's chips represent a large portion of the cell phone market.  They intend to bring their cellular chip technology to all manner of interconnected things, and use the Bitcoin blockchain to do so.

This could be one of the biggest stories in the history of Bitcoin.
We are seeing Bitcoin explode onto the global stage!

Bit_Happy, I think your on to something.  This looks like a new phase. If I'm guessing their intent correctly, they are creating hardware for the coming bitcoin economy. That's a big investment and vote of confidence over just accepting them for payment. It's all happening so fast!

People compare Bitcoin to the Internet. Well, the Internet required an enormous hardware infrastructure buildout before its potential as a software platform could be realized. That's where we come in. We believe that Bitcoin isn't going to happen simply by dropping a line of Javascript into a webpage. Someone needs to build the full-stack infrastructure for Bitcoin, from silicon to software. Backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Peter Thiel, that someone is us.

Looks like you are guessing right.

[PolarPoint]

So it's basically a way to make machines more effective agents on the owners' behalf. Whereas before any situation that required a monetary transfer in order to effectuate a mutually beneficial deal would have required the owners to negotiate directly. If the matter is too trifling, it would just be annoying and a waste of time to negotiate. Instead, have your machines do it. They couldn't do this before, not just because they weren't interconnected, but also because they have no way of transferring value to each other.

Bitcoin enables this. And the scale can be extremely small, so that even the slightest possibility of mutually beneficial trade is capitalized on.

I think you are spot on. Smart electronics are all connected now and they have no way of transferring value to make a deal.

Another easy to understand example would be "lease of computing power". Supposed I have a very powerful computer idling and someone needs a burst of computing power to crunch some numbers or to convert a video. Smart machines can find computing power auction sites and look for the cheapest rate for CPU time. Machines can complete the deal in bitcoin.

[ThatDGuy]

So it's basically a way to make machines more effective agents on the owners' behalf. Whereas before any situation that required a monetary transfer in order to effectuate a mutually beneficial deal would have required the owners to negotiate directly. If the matter is too trifling, it would just be annoying and a waste of time to negotiate. Instead, have your machines do it. They couldn't do this before, not just because they weren't interconnected, but also because they have no way of transferring value to each other.

Bitcoin enables this. And the scale can be extremely small, so that even the slightest possibility of mutually beneficial trade is capitalized on.

I think you are spot on. Smart electronics are all connected now and they have no way of transferring value to make a deal.

Another easy to understand example would be "lease of computing power". Supposed I have a very powerful computer idling and someone needs a burst of computing power to crunch some numbers or to convert a video. Smart machines can find computing power auction sites and look for the cheapest rate for CPU time. Machines can complete the deal in bitcoin.

That's kind of fucking awesome.  Really cool thoughts in this thread.

[Denker]

So it's basically a way to make machines more effective agents on the owners' behalf. Whereas before any situation that required a monetary transfer in order to effectuate a mutually beneficial deal would have required the owners to negotiate directly. If the matter is too trifling, it would just be annoying and a waste of time to negotiate. Instead, have your machines do it. They couldn't do this before, not just because they weren't interconnected, but also because they have no way of transferring value to each other.

Bitcoin enables this. And the scale can be extremely small, so that even the slightest possibility of mutually beneficial trade is capitalized on.

I think you are spot on. Smart electronics are all connected now and they have no way of transferring value to make a deal.

Another easy to understand example would be "lease of computing power". Supposed I have a very powerful computer idling and someone needs a burst of computing power to crunch some numbers or to convert a video. Smart machines can find computing power auction sites and look for the cheapest rate for CPU time. Machines can complete the deal in bitcoin.

Impressive if this is working out!

[RodeoX]

Holly $#!+ Could it be... maybe...

What if they are looking at producing chips to conduct BTC transfers that could go into ANYTHING?
Want to rent that car? Send from your phone to start your 100 mile rental. You could meter about anything, you could put such chips in everything from soda machines to hotel room doors (these have to be replaced anyway since they are now 100% hackable).
One could envision a world of devices ready to serve you as soon as payment is received. These devices could be anywhere. You could design a new shifter knob for your car then send your file along with payment to a 3D printer. There is no end to the ideas.  

[Zangelbert Bingledack]

So it's basically a way to make machines more effective agents on the owners' behalf. Whereas before any situation that required a monetary transfer in order to effectuate a mutually beneficial deal would have required the owners to negotiate directly. If the matter is too trifling, it would just be annoying and a waste of time to negotiate. Instead, have your machines do it. They couldn't do this before, not just because they weren't interconnected, but also because they have no way of transferring value to each other.

Bitcoin enables this. And the scale can be extremely small, so that even the slightest possibility of mutually beneficial trade is capitalized on.

I think you are spot on. Smart electronics are all connected now and they have no way of transferring value to make a deal.

Another easy to understand example would be "lease of computing power". Supposed I have a very powerful computer idling and someone needs a burst of computing power to crunch some numbers or to convert a video. Smart machines can find computing power auction sites and look for the cheapest rate for CPU time. Machines can complete the deal in bitcoin.

Absolutely, and that's a great example.

Every rivalrous resource that is now being allocated dumbly, because it's not "on the market," can be allocated smartly, reflecting each person's preferences and priorities. A subset of that enormous set of possibilities is idle resources. The endpoint is zero idle time. Every machine working at full capacity at all times. This is so incredibly far from what we have now that the efficiency gains are staggering to think about. And if every machine of a certain type can go from, say, 9% utilization to 90% utilization, that means the cost to use or own those machines drops tenfold. The technology gets 10x cheaper, just like that. If this were to happen across the board, it would mean a massive increase in the standard of living and far less waste.

[Denker]

So it's basically a way to make machines more effective agents on the owners' behalf. Whereas before any situation that required a monetary transfer in order to effectuate a mutually beneficial deal would have required the owners to negotiate directly. If the matter is too trifling, it would just be annoying and a waste of time to negotiate. Instead, have your machines do it. They couldn't do this before, not just because they weren't interconnected, but also because they have no way of transferring value to each other.

Bitcoin enables this. And the scale can be extremely small, so that even the slightest possibility of mutually beneficial trade is capitalized on.

I think you are spot on. Smart electronics are all connected now and they have no way of transferring value to make a deal.

Another easy to understand example would be "lease of computing power". Supposed I have a very powerful computer idling and someone needs a burst of computing power to crunch some numbers or to convert a video. Smart machines can find computing power auction sites and look for the cheapest rate for CPU time. Machines can complete the deal in bitcoin.

Absolutely, and that's a great example.

Every rivalrous resource that is now being allocated dumbly, because it's not "on the market," can be allocated smartly, reflecting each person's preferences and priorities. A subset of that enormous set of possibilities is idle resources. The endpoint is zero idle time. Every machine working at full capacity at all times. This is so incredibly far from what we have now that the efficiency gains are staggering to think about. And if every machine of a certain type can go from, say, 9% utilization to 90% utilization, that means the cost to use or own those machines drops tenfold. The technology gets 10x cheaper, just like that. If this were to happen across the board, it would mean a massive increase in the standard of living and far less waste.

This is so mind-blowing!

[brg444]

The way IoT is described and understood today IS stupid, kind of like the "information superhighway" description in the early 1990s. But there is real, almost infinite potential in pieces of code doing business with other pieces of code (not toasters) and the blockchain is almost ideal for that kind of app.

The basic use case I imagine is the situation where two machines with two different owners are drawing from the same utility, say electric power, being offered by a third party. Suppose there isn't enough to power both of them. How are the machines to decide who gets priority in receiving the power?

Well, if the owner of Machine 1 has a high preference for the machine to run uninterrupted (say a server), even if it were to be expensive, he can pre-allocate some spending money to the machine, as an insurance policy in case of power shortages. Meanwhile, the owner of Machine 2, maybe a poorer person or maybe someone who cares less if their machine's operations were temporarily interrupted (say a clothes dryer), would not do this. In fact, they may even allow their machine to sell excess power if someone is paying enough for it.

Then the person who values the resource more can pay for it, enriching others who value the resource less.

This could be for electricity, for driverless cars negotiating right of way on the road for users of different income classes or different time preferences (rushing to the hospital vs. someone just going shopping), or for any other rivalrous good.

So it's basically a way to make machines more effective agents on the owners' behalf. Whereas before any situation that required a monetary transfer in order to effectuate a mutually beneficial deal would have required the owners to negotiate directly. If the matter is too trifling, it would just be annoying and a waste of time to negotiate. Instead, have your machines do it. They couldn't do this before, not just because they weren't interconnected, but also because they have no way of transferring value to each other.

Bitcoin enables this. And the scale can be extremely small, so that even the slightest possibility of mutually beneficial trade is capitalized on.

IoT by itself enables this to happen within one's own property, like the different appliances in your own house, because no other owners are involved so no money needs to change hands. The dishwasher doesn't mind taking a 5-minute break to give extra power to another appliance that needs it. It needs no monetary compensation, because the owner owns both appliances.

It's when this kind of exchange happens with someone else, especially a total stranger, that it becomes necessary for money to change hands.

Now some people imagine this as heaven for the rich, like if for example a rich driver could flip all the red lights green. How sucky would that be if you had to wait at extra-long reds? But no. You had already preset the amount you were willing to pay in bidding for the traffic light to change, and it was far less...but more importantly you get paid for your waiting time. If it's not worth your while to wait and get paid today, just set your asking price higher (a dial just for this purpose is on your dashboard). You only wait if the other driver is offering enough to make you interested in waiting.

This guarantees that everyone benefits from the deal. If the rich driver ultimately wins out and gets the light flipped, everyone else - by hypothesis - gets at least enough money to make it worth their while. Of course the more crowded the intersection the more the rich driver would have to pay, but some will. Everyone is better off, because goods (in this case road space and right of way) are allocated most efficiently by the price system.

Mind=blown