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Bitcoin ≠ Blockchain

Seems like not an hour goes by that I don’t see a headline about the soaring value of bitcoin – followed near-immediately by another that warns of the imminent bursting of the bitcoin bubble.

Since I’m not a bitcoin owner, my interest in these goings-on is more academic than practical. But I am invested (intellectually, not financially) in blockchain, the technology on which the bitcoin phenomenon is based. And my fear is that the current boom/possible-bust nature of the cryptocurrency is coloring people’s view of the technical foundation.

Don’t let this happen to you.

Simply put,

Bitcoin ≠ Blockchain

Whatever happens to bitcoin in the coming days, blockchain will continue to emerge as a disruptive force in much the same way the Internet did two decades ago.

Lawyers, compliance officers, records managers, transportation/shipping agencies, and the many others who are tasked with tracking, verifying, and trusting the flow of information and the people that provide it will find themselves in very different work environments. (For a great take on this, see Alan Pelz-Sharpe’s piece on CMS Wire.) Because this transformation has to with process and not currency, it doesn’t matter one whit whether bitcoin is worth $16,000 or $0,000.

So don’t let yourself become distracted by the excitement and volatility of the bitcoin marketplace: blockchain is coming – blockchain is here – and no bitcoin bubble is going to change that.

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