The most successful attempt at creating scarcity in the digital realm without a trusted third party, Bitcoin is a bearer asset that can be transferred (over computer networks using private/public key cryptography) but not duplicated. Accessible to anyone, it is intrinsic to a public distributed uncensorable settlement ledger, known as blockchain, updated with cryptographic techniques and secured by large amounts of energy in the form of computational work (mining). Bitcoin is the digital equivalent of gold: scarce, used as money, voluntarily accepted without central planning. As much as gold has played a crucial role in our civilization and the history of money and finance, Bitcoin could be disruptive for the digital civilization and the future of money and finance.
