Crypto Ethone

Those who don't deal with blockchain today will end up in the Stone Age in 20-30 years. TODAY Bitcoin’s emergence as a global digital currency has been as revolutionary as it has been erratic. But while fledgling investors obsess over every fluctuation in the cryptocurrency market, nation-states are more interested in the underlying blockchain technology and its ability to revolutionize how business is done on the internet and beyond. VICE's Michael Moynihan travels to Russia with Vitalik Buterin, inventor of the ethereum blockchain, to get a front-row seat to the geopolitical tug of war over Internet 3.0.

Audio version : When it comes to bitcoin adoption, there are generally two rules that never seem to fail. Everyone always feels late, and everyone always wishes they had bought more bitcoin. There are exceptions to every rule, but bitcoin has an uncanny ability to screw with the human psyche. It turns out that 21 million is a scarily small number, and it actually becomes smaller as more individuals come to understand that the fixed supply of bitcoin is credibly enforced and that monetary networks converge on a single medium. Demand for bitcoin is driven by the credibility of its monetary properties and the convergent nature of money, but increasing demand for bitcoin reinforces the scarcity of bitcoin’s fixed supply. As it does, bitcoin becomes more valuable as a monetary medium. While this becomes evident the further down the bitcoin rabbit hole one travels, it is not uncommon for individuals on the periphery to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of cryptocurrencies. Sure, bit...