Quote from: Gervais on July 07, 2015, 12:48:46 PM

Quote from: jbreher on July 06, 2015, 07:17:47 PM

My interpretation of their summary: Bitcoin gonna bring the hurt to staid incumbent financial biz.

Well I certainly hope so, but my fear is once the banks realize how much bitcoin is hurting them or how much money they can save they will just implement bitcoin tech into their own businesses rather than actual bitcoin which many banks are already looking into now. It's obvious that bitcoin tech can save them money as their systems are old and antiquated but they'll probably just create their own blockchain or one set up solely for the major banks to use so wont do us much good as bitcoin users.

It's certainly within the realm of possibility. But they have a bootstrapping problem.

The industry is rife with hundreds of competing players. While they doubtless bury their differences while lobbying for special favors from national governments, I don't think they actively collaborate on tech things (if they did, would they be using the same clearing systems they developed a half-century ago or longer?).

The Bitcoin blockchain is already the largest single application of computing power that humanity has ever known. If they are to use a true crypto, any such new system they create will need to be even more secured by hashing power. Lest the upstart little people divert their hashing power to the banks' new blockchain, and subvert it to more egalitarian ends.

Could the banksters pull this off? From a theoretical financial and organizational standpoint, maybe. But socially, across company borders? I'm hoping no.