In Las Vegas, Alternative Currency Buffs Are Making The Case That Bitcoin WIll Do To Money What The Web Did To Information

We're at the Money2020 conference on new and alternative payment systems in Las Vegas, where representatives from all corners of financial services are discussing the current state of money. This morning, Micky Malka of Ribbit Capital laid out a very straightforward case on why you should be bullish on Bitcoin.

"Bitcoin is for money what TCP/IP is to the Information Age," he said. "It provides us with a universal decentralized ledger for recording any and all transactions. It will change the way money moves around the world."

It's an apt analogy. To simplify it a bit, TCP/IP is the name for the communication standards that enable Internet technology to function. Because TCP/IP is the same everywhere, it's practical worldwide. Similarly, Bitcoin standards are the same everywhere. Malka makes the case that Bitcoin will move money around the world the same way that TCP/IP moves information around the world.

Malka explains that there's still some development to be done before Bitcoin can become the disruptive standard Internet currency it purports to be: "Bitcoin today is in a similar state that the Internet was in 1992. It's functional and useful, but the great use cases are only just now happening. It's only going to get better and better."