Paul Vigna & Michael. Casey: "The Age of Cryptocurrency" | Talks at Google

A cyber-phenomenon that became a buzzword virtually overnight, Bitcoin constantly makes headlines, fueling endless media debate over its viability. And though today it can be used to buy almost anything, few understand the controversial currency and most think it will never be mainstream. So should we even care about Bitcoin? In THE AGE OF CRYPTOCURRENCY: How Bitcoin and Digital Money are Challenging the Global Economic Order (January 27), leading WSJ financial writers Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey argue Bitcoin represents a monumental paradigm shift that will transform the social, political and economic landscape. Since its advent, Bitcoin has gained a reputation for instability and illicit business; naysayers fear its power to eliminate jobs and upend the concept of a nation-state. Vigna and Casey show that cryptocurrencies can also bring good. For one, they remove the middleman from the financial system, giving the power to the people and safeguarding from the devastation of a 2008-type crash. They also promote financial equality; Bitcoin has already given the world's unbanked—those marginalized billions who’ve never had a bank account—unprecedented access to the global economy. Regardless of its long-term effects, Vigna and Casey prove we can’t ignore Bitcoin; for better or worse, it’s here to stay. A critical, accessible look at a global phenomenon, THE AGE OF CRYPTOCURRENCY demystifies virtual currency and explains its origins, its functions, its potential value and how to navigate the new global cyber-economy. The book published to great reviews, including in The Economist and Fortune. Harvard historian Niall Ferguson raved that “you need to read The Age of Cryptocurrency today” and leading VC Marc Andreessen likewise called it a “must-read.” ABOUT THE AUTHORS PAUL VIGNA is a markets reporter for The Wall Street Journal, covering equities and the economy. He is a columnist and anchor for MoneyBeat. Previously a writer and editor of the MarketTalk column in DowJones Newswires, he has been a guest on the Fox Business Network, CNN, the BBC, and the John Batchelor radio show. He has been interviewed by Bitcoin magazine and appeared on the Bitcoins & Gravy podcast, and boasts a collective 20 years of journalism experience. MICHAEL J. CASEY writes for The Wall Street Journal, covering global finance in his "Horizons" column. He is a frequent contributor to the Journal's MoneyBeat blog and co-authors the daily "BitBeat" with Paul Vigna. He is the host of the book-themed video series "WSJ Afterword" and a frequent guest on and host of "The News Hub" and "MoneyBeat." His podcast on world economic affairs is forthcoming. Casey has written for such publications as Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, and The Financial Times. He is the author of two books: Che's Afterlife: The Legacy of an Image (Vintage, 2009), one of Michiko Kakutani's "best books of 2009," and The Unfair Trade: How Our Broken Financial System Destroys the Middle Class (Crown, 2012). This Authors at Google talk was hosted by Boris Debic.

Comments

1. Fuck You Michael Casey! Go to HELL!
2. Some cryptocurrencies want to go to the moon, Nexus wants to bring crypto to everyone on earth. Nexus, Be the Decentralization.
3. brand new crypto currency launched. Valorbit Coin. join from this link and get 500,000 coins for free! https://valorbit.com/signup/RV0WB_eWCfPwnQv4kxBiyQ
4. This is a great commentary on an amazing book, we highly recommend to pick up a copy of "The Age Of Cryptocurrency" if you are the least bit interested in cryptocurrency, you won't be sorry!
5. If this blows up, I am taking the value into making Democratically Run Worker Cooperatives
6. My fuck... they seem to almost get it, but don't. Don't waste your time watching this.
7. Shuttle forward as the bloke who does the introduction is boring
8. Crypto Currencies became popular when confidence in the US dollar and other hard fiat currencies started to wane, specifically 2008. If or when another big crash happens, gold, silver, other metals and crypto currencies will become even more popular than ever.
   
   The bankers are calling for getting rid of cash and going to digital currency right now as of 5/13/15. When they accomplish that, the crypto currencies will ascend to even greater value as people realize that the digital currencies controlled by the money powers are nothing more than the fiat currency of the past.
   
   People will be looking for alternatives to the money powers offerings and crypto currencies will again become more of an alternative.
9. This second gentleman has no idea what he's talking about. A "centralized blockchain" makes no sense. If its centralized there is no need for blocks or a chain. You could organize the data in a chain of blocks if you wanted, but it would be entirely superfluous, and once you remove the blocks and chain you just have a traditional client server model with the server maintaining a traditional database.
10. So, that's like the google official position on the subject? We don't like anonymity and we don't like the coin, but we would love coins at 30$? ... Not-gonna-happen. ;)
11. Screw off. Settle on a place after killing millions of natives as genocide, pollute like crazy until the land is so bad that you have to manufacture chemical nutrients just to grow your own food, leave livestock toxic shit everywhere because your people need cows and pigs, trade destruction for destruction and you share the profits, then you say you want even more so you try to promote digital wealth that's just taking advantage once again over people who aren't aware of your schemes. Gtfo
12. Will be fun when the first large corporation to utilize "permissed blockchains" (i.e. password-protected databases) for important business contracts is easily hacked in a way the Bitcoin network never could be, since they're not secured by a valued token, but by the same fallible human opsec that gets compromised every day around the world. That company's loss or even collapse as a result of placing trust in an untrustworthy tech will be the death knell of this particular fantasy.
    
    However if they're just used as a slightly upgraded database tech to which no automated trusted processes are attached, there may be a simple slight increase in efficiency behind the scenes of companies. Which is far from "disruptive" or "innovative" but rather "incremental."
13. Neither of these guys know much about bitcoin or the blockchain. I feel stupider after watching this. People don't care about privacy? Bitcoin needs the approval of government? lol wtf? Don't listen to these clowns.
    
    
    These guys should not have a seat at the table. Bitcoin is not for them.
14. I was just noting caution to my fellow people about the dangers of crypto currency. I did not promote the dollar as the best currency. Printing money is horrible as well but at least it has a steady valuation and traceable transactions. If anyone ignorant enough to invest in BitCoin can go right ahead. You will live and learn. Watch the "Rise and Rise of BitCoin" documentary.
15. The trust in bitcoin does not come from personal knowledge of individuals involved as much as in comes from the open source and technology.
16. thanks for this talk guys - The Rat is smiling
17. Not a great talk, but at least he's got the right idea, which puts him in the <1% of journalists at this time.
18. Buttcoin
19. "The whole thing grew in a very organic way"  ... and continues to do so!  
    Great speech Paul!
20. Beware. Do your research on Bitcoin. Like anything on a shared digital network, crypto currency is susceptible to hacking. BitCoin is dangerous because participants are essentially anonymous with no way to trace a thief and lost Bitcoins.