The Disruptive Potential of Bitcoins

According to Coinbase's Fred Ehrsam, the digital currency bitcoin is making in roads to become a dependable and less volatile currency.

There I was, at a New Year's Eve cocktail party, and my conversation with a couple of people turned to bitcoin... 

Coinbase's Brian Armstrong tells FORBES how they want to use their most recent $25 million investment round and hope to change the way e-commerce is done.

One friend called bitcoin "internet money" (i.e., fake). But nailing down a $25 million investment sounds very real to me! 

 

KnC Miner sells machines that help the Bitcoin network work. The reward, if a miner is lucky, is a cut of the digital money.

Under-the-hood of what makes the bitcoin network run... 

I had seen thumbnails of these three videos, many times on Forbes' channel, but didn't feel prompted to watch them until that New Year's Eve conversation.  Bitcoins seem very much a curiosity for people, but my sense is that it could outdo such stalwart currencies as the dollar, euro and yen and revolutionize e-commerce in general.    

But the question from the first video is apropos:  Will bitcoin ever be mainstream?