We needed cash on the Internet, so…

Bitcoin visualization

..we (Satoshi Nakamoto, to be precise) invented a method of payment that enjoyed the same anonymity and acceptance of physical currency transactions in the real world, along with a similar level of value volatility at the global level. Bitcoin has now made currency trading uber-cool with the digerati. It’s the new gold for the digital millennium, if you will. Considering that  “IT” and “Finance” folks haven’t typically considered that their worlds would overlap, this makes for some interesting conversations; and a great bridge between distant leaders.

Thanks to Bitcoin, “making money” has also evolved. Mining Bitcoin is an exercise in math computation, and where there is math – there will be graphics’ cards and overclocked processors running overtime. Now that SETI and protein-folding analysis is passe, all the ‘extra computing power within reach’ can be dedicated to mining Bitcoin. Translated, any spikes in electricity consumption at the average office campus could be a sneaky Bitcoin miner setting up shop at the organization’s expense.

Is Bitcoin a good idea? Yes. Given the social stature of money and our connected, global presence today; letting the intrinsic value of money be a social-global determination is a great idea. However, it is an idea that disrupts one of the core belief structures known to society. Change like this can be very tough at the start.