Visions of Blockchain Magazine S01E04 | Page 33

Megaphone orld w r e tt e b a f o ” y g lo een the “ideo of markets. Bitcoin: Betw n o ti la u ip n a m e and th Thomas Paillet I still remember that owning Bitcoins in 2012 was not a trivial thing: ‘Financing illegal markets, linked with terrorism’ - pejorative com- parisons were hastily made. At that time, few people were talking about Blockchain technology and altcoins did not even exist yet. The media boycotted and demonized Bitcoin as THE currency of crime. Yet, my first Bitcoin transaction made me realize the impor- tance of this digital revolution. A banknote converted into virtual money units - so totally indepen- dent of banks - is breathtaking. Indeed, the electronic cash and the international use of it represent the pinnacle of the world trade on the Internet.