Hacker News Reader

Bitcoin (and crypto) is not a currency, commodity, stock or bond. It's a combination which makes it a completely new and different kind of asset class. It's a programmable asset that primarily serves as a 'trading vehicle' in the mind of traders and Wall St. Understanding this helps to understand why Goldman and others are stepping over themselves to setup trading desks for most crypto now and in the future.

View on HN

I totally agree with the assertion that it doesn't fall into existing asset type (or-- maybe that it can move between asset types in a novel way), but what do you mean by "programmable"? Isn't the simpler explanation or enthusiasm on the part of Goldman et al. just classic FOMO?

When you can engineer sophisticated scripts or wrappers around a globally accessible immutable tradable asset it increases functionality and innovation in financial products which includes autonomous machines trading crypto with one another in exchange for data. I think we're in for a world of fun.

Bitcoin uses smart contracts for its transactions. Meaning, you can program a transaction to occur if certain conditions are met. One example is a multisignature-required transaction. A multisig transaction is only valid and spendable if n-of-m signatures are present.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com