Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa May 2013 | Page 72
TECH TALK
BY RUSSELL BENNETT
Quirky Crypto-currency experiment full of Lessons
W
hether you’re a techie at heart or a
total technophobe, there’s absolutely
no denying that the Internet has
fundamentally affected our lives in a plethora of
ways - some anticipated but many not.
The Internet was designed as a communications
medium, and little else. But while it still very
effectively functions as a global, open, unfettered
and unfiltered platform for communicating
ideas, news, and anything else that needs to
be discussed, it has become a lot more than its
creators originally considered.
And it continues to evolve. Whether to you
social networking is merely a way of fancifully
idling away time, or a critical channel of
business communications, these systems have
already been very effectively used in engineering
real social change. And in the process proven
themselves far more effective as a driver of such
change than our existing, traditional societal
structures ever were.
But, I put it to you, that’s still just the beginning.
The tip of the iceberg. The first rays of light
beaming from the slightest crack in the slowly
opening lid of this particular Pandora’s box.
What about the existing monetary system, easily
one of the oldest and most powerful institutions
we face the challenge of dealing with in this
modern society we’re building. It’s quite clear
that the existing model of Keynesian capitalism
works to an extent, but is also fundamentally
unsustainable. After all the very basis of the
system contradicts itself - capitalism is based on
generating and then saving up sufficient revenue
to catapult your organisation on to the next level of
success through investment, while the monetary
system is built to perpetually devalue that same
capital in circulation.
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May 2013 SA Real Estate Investor
How can the Internet rock as well-established
and powerfully-supported a system as this,
flawed though it may be? The answer may lie in
a small digital oddity which I first reported on
when it was initially introduced back in 2009.
Have you ever heard of BitCoins?
Created by a small team of entrepreneurs,
a BitCoin is a currency which only exists
in digital format. In fact, each BitCoin
is effectively made up of a complex chain
of code built up from peer-to-peer (P2P)
net work f unctions and exchanges, w ith
no intrinsic value whatsoever beyond what
the community and greater market give it.
Critically, however, it is a currency which has
since its introduction only increased in value
with no devaluation cycles or trends. In fact,
it is the first currency ever introduced to be
able to claim such a phenomena.
BitCoins allow for the transmission of funds
without any need for a third-party authoriser
managing the flow. Transactions are effectively
free and managed by the entire open-source
BitCoin network without a central authority.
Users either “mine” BitCoins by providing the
distributed processing capabilities necessary
to maintain the BitCoin network, CPU time
for which they are compensated in the digital
currency, or by buying the currency through one
of a variety of BitCoin markets.
It can be used as any recognised currency
for purchasing and paying for products, with
the value tied-in to the current BitCoin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x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˜?Z[XY????B??