Chris Skinner's blog

Shaping the future of finance

Crypto

What is Money?

Blimey!!! When you start debating nuances of things with the Bitcoin community, it doesn’t ‘arf get into a pedants dream. In this case, we clarified some of the dialogue about the blockchain and bitcoin yesterday.  The net:net of that discussion is that you have to a have a native currency to use the blockchain.  It…

Cash

What is Money?

Blimey!!! When you start debating nuances of things with the Bitcoin community, it doesn’t ‘arf get into a pedants dream. In this case, we clarified some of the dialogue about the blockchain and bitcoin yesterday.  The net:net of that discussion is that you have to a have a native currency to use the blockchain.  It…

Cash

Banks using the bitcoin blockchain is like putting a bird in a cage

The Bitcoin community have been educating me lately in how their currency can not be regulated. This stems from my assertion that money was created to control people and therefore you cannot have money without government. The Bitcoin guys tell me that once you’ve converted your currency into bitcoins, then you can trade that currency anywhere…

Banks using the bitcoin blockchain is like putting a bird in a cage

The Bitcoin community have been educating me lately in how their currency can not be regulated. This stems from my assertion that money was created to control people and therefore you cannot have money without government. The Bitcoin guys tell me that once you’ve converted your currency into bitcoins, then you can trade that currency anywhere…

Some bankers do have their head in the sand (luckily most don’t)

So I just chaired a panel discussion at Eurofinance 2014.  There were six statements made during the panel which I wanted to discuss on stage but, being the moderator, I couldn’t really say: “what you just said is complete balderdash my friend” (I could, but it wouldn't have been appropriate).  So luckily I blog and therefore I…

Some bankers do have their head in the sand (luckily most don’t)

So I just chaired a panel discussion at Eurofinance 2014.  There were six statements made during the panel which I wanted to discuss on stage but, being the moderator, I couldn’t really say: “what you just said is complete balderdash my friend” (I could, but it wouldn't have been appropriate).  So luckily I blog and therefore I…

The importance of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain to banks (and everyone)

We had a revival of the Innotribe from SIBOS on Monday, by gathering the great and the good to discuss cryptocurrencies at the Escalator, an incubator for new fintech start-ups in East London run by Barclays Bank (if you want a primer on this, see Learn Cryptography). The session was led by Richard Brown, Executive…

Simon

The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin [#SIBOS #SIBOS2014 #Innotribe]

I finish the first day of SIBOS by returning to the innotribe tent to watch the world premiere of the film The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin. It was surprisingly well attended with a packed room of popcorn munchers and beer drinkers (no puns intended). The film is 90 minutes long and traces the origins of…

Innotribe