Staying Current on Currency.

• Position: BUSINESS & FINANCE - Blockchain technology

While the Internet enabled the peer-to-peer exchange of digital communications, blockchain technology enables the peer-to-peer exchange of value, without needing a trusted third party to authenticate transactions. Blockchain technology instead provides a system of trust vested in a process: of open source software; a digital peer-to-peer transfer system; checks and balances; math-based incentives; software encryption; and an online chain of public transaction records. It thus promises a myriad of applications to transact instantaneously, initiate contracts, update ledgers, or share databases in a way that is faster and cheaper than current alternatives.

Bitcoin represents the first blockchain application and cryptocurrency promising secure, efficient digital payments. At its current stage, Bitcoin has particular appeal in emerging economies that lack a secure, robust system for financial payments.

Both digital payments and cryptocurrency represent only one of the countless potential applications of blockchain technology. As Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies evolve to achieve "scalability" to process tens of thousands of transactions per second, more applications likely will proliferate that integrate Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, notably in the rapidly evolving...