Blockchain: understanding the potential Bitcoin, heralded by many as the single biggest breathrough since the arrival of the internet, has proved to be something of a moving target since its launch in Š‹‹Œ­ Žowever, it continues to be the focus of significant investment and innovation with the industry predicting that more than $1 billion in venture capital funding will ’ have been invested in bitcoin and its future by the end of Š‹1‘ Recent developments include BitPesa, a Nairobi- clichés and misconceptions have grown up around „his may prove to be the case – but rather than based start-up focusing on bitcoin remittances, the digital currency and its underlying technology­ simply leaving it there, bans and companies could which raised over $1 million earlier this year and „hese misconceptions can hinder discussions about be delving into this topic to understand what maes Earthport which agreed a partnership with Ripple the future direction of development and the way in this technology so attractive and what types of abs allowing real-time cross-border ban payments which initiatives are presented in the media­ application could be created­ ˆt is only when the But, it is becoming increasingly clear that bitcoin is …or one thing, its associations with †il Road, the possibilities are e‰plored in more detail that the true part of an even bigger story financial institutions, digital blac maret, have left some people with scale of possible change can be appreciated­ including Barclays, are now considering how the assumption that bitcoin is lined to money the technology underpinning digital currency – laundering and terrorists­ Education is improving on commonly called ‘the blocchain’ or ‘blocchain’ this point, but misconceptions continue to affect the – could in itself revolutionise finance­ €hile many of way that many people thin about bitcoin­ these potential applications are medium term the Blocchain technology is liewise sub‡ect to certain development cycles in the industry mean that now clichés­ ˆn the first instance, attention focused is the time for companies to begin asing how this closely on bitcoin itself and how the digital currency technology could benefit them­ was going to change the world­ ˆn the last couple ‚hallenging the misconceptions of years, this focus has shifted and many people are now repeating the assertion that blocchain technologies are more interesting than Bitcoin Bitcoin may have attracted significant attention the currency­ around the world – but alongside all the hype, many ’ www­insidebitcoins­com“news“bitcoin-venture-capital-funding-pace-1-billion-Š‹1‘“”‹••‘ Š of ‘