> I remember passing around sheets of paper with URLs to type in, before there were search engines Wow, what a throwback in time! I had completely forgotten th

> I remember passing around sheets of paper with URLs to type in, before there were search engines Wow, what a throwback in time! I had completely forgotten that. Thanks for the sweet memories! Also, I agree with your take. One key difference re. cryptocurrencies might be legal context however. Internet wasn't stepping on governments toes, more like disruption of the telco sector (which was already focused on emerging mobile at the time, a decade prior to smartphones). I'm not so sure the road is wide open for alternative currencies, because central banks and, oh, stability of the economy etc. It's a much tougher sell. Blockchain itself however, the tech, may have killer-apps and uses — either as an evolution of currencies, or decoupled entirely from 'currency' (trustless secured distributed databases may fit many needs IMHO, notably for social purposes like contracts or unhackable communication).