Abstract

The invention of bitcoin in 2008 has sparked significant interest in alternative currencies and new monetary technology. Bitcoin and blockchain start-ups have attracted nearly $2 billion in venture capital investment over the last three years, a figure in-line with early-internet start-up venture investment. This presentation provides a framework for understanding the uses, prospects, and obstacles to adoption faced by alternative currencies like bitcoin. The emerging interest shown by governments and central banks in introducing bitcoin-like currencies, and what this may mean for cash and privately issued alternative currencies, is also discussed. The second part of the presentation will focus on ‘non-currency’ applications of the distributed ledger technology underpinning cryptocurrencies, such as securities settlement, asset provenance, and information management. Special attention is given to smart contracts, considered by many to be blockchain technology’s ‘killer app’.