Its ledger provides a decentralised cloud- based transactions record, preventing counterfeiting
BYCHAN YI WEN YIWENC@SPH.COM.SG PRINT |EMAIL THIS ARTICLE
Valuable currency: Most people overlook the protocol, focusing only on Bitcoin's price action, says David Moskowitz of Coin Republic. - PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
BITCOIN's extreme price swings often capture headlines, but what's arguably more important is the breakthrough it represents in financial protocol, market players say.
Earlier this month, the value of one Bitcoin roller- coastered down from record highs of US$1,200 to US$722 on Mt Gox over a single weekend. (Mt Gox is one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges worldwide.)
The spectacular drop in value that weekend followed an announcement by the Chinese central bank - concerned about money laundering and other illegal uses of the crypto-currency - that it would bar its banks and payment systems from handling Bitcoins, and the subsequent removal of Bitcoin payment systems from the Baidu and China Telecom websites, China's largest search engine and third-largest mobile network respectively.
"Most people overlook the protocol, focusing only on the price action of the currency," said David Moskowitz of Coin Republic, a Bitcoin exchange platform.
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