What’s The Point Of Bitcoin?
Making sense of the digital currency and the ideology of its founders, fans and future.
Making sense of the digital currency and the ideology of its founders, fans and future.
In 2010 a developer spent 10,000 bitcoin to buy two pizzas. Seven and a half years later that was the equivalent of over $80m.
Bitcoin has been exploding in value throughout 2017 as more and more people buy into the idea of a digital currency. Traditional financial institutions have even begun to get involved. But far from a mainstream investment, Bitcoin started life as an idea from the radical cypherpunk movement, who wanted to use decentralised technologies as a way to disrupt governments and corporations.
In this edition of The Inquiry we trace the history and development of Bitcoin – and ask whether its future will stay true to its libertarian roots.
(Image: The Digital Cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Photo Credit: Dan Kitwood/ Getty Images)
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More transformative than the internet
Duration: 02:09
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Cypherpunks
Duration: 02:16
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The Inquiry
Getting beyond the headlines to explore the forces and ideas shaping the world