IBM looking at adopting bitcoin technology for major currencies

(Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp is considering adopting the underlying technology behind bitcoin, known as the "blockchain," to create a digital cash and payment system for major currencies, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The objective is to allow people to transfer cash or make payments instantaneously using this technology without a bank or clearing party involved, saving on transaction costs, the person said. The transactions would be in an open ledger of a specific country's currency such as the dollar or euro, said the source, who declined to be identified because of a lack of authorization to discuss the project in public.

IBM looking at adopting bitcoin technology for major currencies

So basically IBM is working to implement a type of blockchain payment system with major currencies instead of a cryptocurrency. They are in discussions with the Federal Reserve Bank and other major stakeholders in the dinosaur monetary system. This looks kind of suspect to me but I guess time will tell. What do you think Bitcoin enthusiast? Is this a red herring by the major banks in league with their favorite corporatist lynch pin technology company?

1 Bitcoin equals 276.43 Euro

Enough said, or not!!!

I made a good chunk of change off bitcoin...there are some legit services out there if you give your info and tie it to a bank account. It was fluctuating so much back then between 350 and 600 dollars....id buy 5 or 6 and sell em once they went up. Every now and then it would get stuck and id wait it out or buy more if it got really low. Eventually I stopped and took a break and now its really really low. Glad I got out! But with that...now is a good time to buy!

Once it stabilizes and more people get into it ...it wont fluctuate as much anymore. I currently like the idea of doing little projects in exchange for bitcoin....like programming or writing music etc.

a reply to: rockpaperhammock

I am glad you made some coin in bitcoin.

The important part of this article is that the people who run the monetary system are working together to use the blockchain ledger system for international commerce money clearing outside of normal bank clearance system on a secure closed system. They want to use the blockchain ledger system to clear transactions in major currencies, not any cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, or Litecoin.

They intend to operate a bankless international money clearing system in all major currencies directly.

I'm sure there are some shady dealings going on behind the scenes of this, especially given the players, but regardless, it's a smart decision for IBM to make. It's inevitable that at some point in the near future we are going to transition to a cashless society (or close to it), and with a large company like IBM invested in it, it'll probably come sooner, rather than later.

As for Bitcoin, several years ago when it was in its' infancy I bought a few on a whim, I think the going rate at the time was just over $6 per Bitcoin. Suffice it to say, I got quite a good return on my investment, and wish I had gotten more.

a reply to: machineintelligence

haha sorry i guess my post was kind of off topic...i was just rambling...

I dont see how they could do that with regular currency and man ...I don't see how that could be safe...maybe I dont fully understand it but seems like a convenient way to blame the system when something fails...

a reply to: rockpaperhammock
The blockchain is a ledger system that uses hashes which are little encrypted and signed blocks of data that sign a monetary transaction between 2 or more parties instead of using a trusted 3rd party like a bank. The system keeps things honest because the blockchain is a distributed ledger system that is also time, and date encoded. It makes double spending the same unit of value very difficult using technology and a publicly audit able ledger.

a reply to: AdmireTheDistance

Your username on ATS reminds me of the song from Joy Division, New Dawn Fades. I was kind of nostalgic when they played that song at the end of The Equalizer with Denzel Washington.

I kind of like Moby's version better than the Joy Division origination I must admit.