Reflection 1 - Bitcoin

In the first studio session, our group discussed the more technical side of how bitcoin works, and pitched ideas to each other about the applications and importance that bitcoin can have around the world. The technical discussion of how bitcoin works took a while to go through, since its setup is very complex. I believe an overall general understanding of the way bitcoin works was reached by all of our group members. The most important two aspects of bitcoin are its permanent tracking of transactions that is unalterable, and its open source, unregulated nature. These features are what technology companies and entrepreneurs alike have been trying to harvest and capitalize on for the past few years.

One of the ideas I pitched was bitcoin's potential for integration into areas of poverty. This past summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa for a computer science program. One of the technology companies that was affiliated with the program I was on was trying to solve the problem of robberies in the many townships in South Africa. Since these townships (ghettos) are so poor and unregulated, there is a high crime rate, and the spazza shops (shack-like stores with basic toiletries/food) often were being robbed due to the fact that they have to keep cash in their stores. Therefore, the tech company wanted to provide a way for people living in the townships to use bitcoin for their transactions, so cash would not have to be kept in the shops anymore (therefore reducing the ability of people to rob it for its money). This is one of the many applications of bitcoin that our group is going to continue to research and look into.