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Bitcoin is also a technology. It can do more than just being money. For example, the technology is used in namecoin, which help facilitate the rise of a decentr

by kiba 15y ago

Bitcoin is also a technology. It can do more than just being money. For example, the technology is used in namecoin, which help facilitate the rise of a decentralized DNS system not subject to government control. After all, the DNS record is contained in every namecoin blockchain in the world. (OF course, the bigger issue is how the heck will namecoin get adopted as de facto DNS?) I even wrote an article on unexpected technological niche outbreak of bitcoin: http://bitcoinweekly.com/articles/technological-jailbreak-bitcoin-to-namecoin http://bitcoinweekly.com/articles/technological-jailbreak-bi... I think in time, we will start seeing Bitcoin technologies adopted in more areas and more areas that have nothing to do with money or our financial system.

SkyMarshal 15y ago
Agreed. Bitcoin's fundamental value is a feasible solution to the Byzantine General's Problem, or distributed consensus among untrusted parties. That solution can and is being repurposed, Namecoin being among the first. The cat is very out of the bag, and it's one of the most interesting spaces in technology right now.
- jc123 15y ago
  Good layman's explanation of bitcoin and Byzantine Generals' Problem: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2667486 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2667486
- nazgulnarsil 15y ago
  I wouldn't call it a solution so much as a working approximation to a solution. AFAIK a complete solution would mean you could quantify how much each party trusts each other party at any given time.
- Egregore 15y ago
  What are other problems (besides namecoin) which can be solved by bitcoin technology?
  - SkyMarshal 15y ago
    Contracts, for one. https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Contracts https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Contracts
tomjen3 15y ago
It is fairly easy to get it accepted as the standard DNS. First you have to package it so it is reasonably easy to setup Joe the regular user. It does not have to be perfect. Then you have to offer an incentive. Napster (at the time the most popular program ever written) had tons of MP3 music as the bait. Bittorrent was seeded (ha a triple pun, win) with pornography. In other words we have used lust and greed. Perhaps vanity or envy could be used to seed namecoin? Click here to see what your friends are saying behind your back? This is what they won't let you know about famous celebrity.
- trout 15y ago
  From the graph, it looks like drugs are the bait for bitcoins. It looks like every geek with a drug tweak bought in to bitcoin in the days after the Gawker article. It's not DNS related nor is it 100% responsible for the spike, but it is a unique solution for anonymous drug trade.

by kiba 15y ago

SkyMarshal 15y ago

Agreed. Bitcoin's fundamental value is a feasible solution to the Byzantine General's Problem, or distributed consensus among untrusted parties. That solution can and is being repurposed, Namecoin being among the first. The cat is very out of the bag, and it's one of the most interesting spaces in technology right now.

jc123 15y ago
Good layman's explanation of bitcoin and Byzantine Generals' Problem: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2667486 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2667486
nazgulnarsil 15y ago
I wouldn't call it a solution so much as a working approximation to a solution. AFAIK a complete solution would mean you could quantify how much each party trusts each other party at any given time.
Egregore 15y ago
What are other problems (besides namecoin) which can be solved by bitcoin technology?
- SkyMarshal 15y ago
  Contracts, for one. https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Contracts https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Contracts

tomjen3 15y ago

It is fairly easy to get it accepted as the standard DNS. First you have to package it so it is reasonably easy to setup Joe the regular user. It does not have to be perfect. Then you have to offer an incentive. Napster (at the time the most popular program ever written) had tons of MP3 music as the bait. Bittorrent was seeded (ha a triple pun, win) with pornography. In other words we have used lust and greed. Perhaps vanity or envy could be used to seed namecoin? Click here to see what your friends are saying behind your back? This is what they won't let you know about famous celebrity.

trout 15y ago
From the graph, it looks like drugs are the bait for bitcoins. It looks like every geek with a drug tweak bought in to bitcoin in the days after the Gawker article. It's not DNS related nor is it 100% responsible for the spike, but it is a unique solution for anonymous drug trade.