In May 2015, I wrote a blog post about the potential of the blockchain. I was optimistic about its potential.1Yet, recent Bitcoin developments suggest that I should re-visit my opinion about Bitcoin and the blockchain in light of new information. The new information included, firstly, the very public resignation of Mike Hearn, a former Bitcoin core developer, from the project, complete with a post on Medium titled, “The resolution of the Bitcoin experiment”.…

This post will begin with a brief history of Bitcoin, progress to a summary of my views on Bitcoin as money, and conclude with my views on the blockchain as an enabling protocol. This history does not aim to be a comprehensive chronology of Bitcoin. Rather, it is my intention to create something of a thematic overview of Bitcoin, covering its origins, some milestones in its development, its price history in U.…