Author: This article was written by Mike Rogers, VP of Crypto Education & Research at Tradebits
“In the light of the Satoshi, we now proclaim Bitcoin of the House Blockchain, First of His Name, King of the Libertarians and the Cyberpunks, and Lord of the global financial system. Long may he reign!” -Bitcoin Users
If the above quote sounds like something out of the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, you are right on the money. For those that are unfamiliar, the television show is based on the best-selling book series ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ by George R.R. Martin. My quote is a custom variation of the original quote below:
“In the light of the Seven, I now proclaim Tommen of the House Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. Long may he reign!” — The High Septon
I personally have not read the books, but I can tell you that the dialogue of the show is downright Shakespearean. As confirmation, the original quote has been ingrained in my head since I first heard it in the fifth episode of the fourth season four years ago. It is fitting that the title of the episode is “First of His Name” and I will explain its relation to bitcoin.
Web 1.0: Genesis of the World Wide Web
“Aegon Targaryen changed the rules. That’s why every child alive still knows his name, three hundred years after his death.”- Tywin Lannister
Photograph by HBO
In Game of Thrones, King Aegon Targaryen was the founder and first king of the Targaryen dynasty. He is credited with unifying the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, founding the capital city of King’s Landing, and forging the Iron Throne. King Aegon was able to do what no man had ever done before, connect the continent of Westeros under one realm. The foundation of House Targaryen was strong enough that the family would rule the Seven Kingdoms for over three centuries.
“Tim Berners-Lee changed the rules. That’s why every techie alive still knows his name, twenty-nine years after the creation of The World Wide Web.” –Millennial Mike
To summarize the significance of Tim Berners-Lee’s to the internet, he is the reason why you are able to read my story currently. Tim Berners-Lee invented The World Wide Web, which is the primary tool (through web browsers) that billions of people use to interact on the Internet. His contributions were critical to the development of the Information Age. Both King Aegon and Tim Berner-Lee’s names deserve to be remembered throughout time, as they were able to successfully connect mankind like no other.
Web 2.0: Connecting the world through the Social Web
“Robert was never the same after he put on that crown. Some men are like swords, made for fighting. Hang them up and they go to rust.” –Donal Noye
King Robert I Baratheon. Photograph by HBO
King Robert Baratheon was the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms after the fall of House Targaryen. Robert was a great warrior and charismatic man in his youth, who was able to take the throne through conquest. Killing Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, the eldest son and heir to King Aerys II Targaryen, was the climactic moment for Robert Baratheon’s warrior lifestyle. From the moment Robert captures the Iron Throne, he has no interest in ruling his kingdom, instead he revels in the glory days of the rebellion.
“Sean Parker was never the same after he brought the recording industry to its knees. Some men are like swords, made for fighting. Hang them up and they go to rust.” –Millennial Mike
We all know Sean Parker, or at least we think we know Sean Parker. For anyone unfamiliar, at 19, Sean Parker co-founded the now defunct file-sharing service Napster. Napster pioneered peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing and is infamous for opening the pandora’s box that would change the music industry forever and always.
Illustration by Forbes
After Napster, Parker went on to become the first President of Facebook. Sean Parker is a fighter and a disruptor, who was portrayed as the bad boy in David Fincher’s 2010 film The Social Network. Facebook is the gold standard example of an web 2.0 company, which allows users to interact and collaborate with each other.
I compare Sean Parker to Robert Baratheon because I believe that he is someone that lives for the thrill of the fight. His personal version of “Robert’s Rebellion” was during his early years where he brought down the music record industry. His contributions to Facebook are noteworthy, but at the end of the day, it was Mark Zuckerberg’s company. I believe that Sean Parker is still searching for his next game-changing fight.
Web 3.0: The Dawn of the Blockchain Dynasty
“He’s never been a bastard. He’s the heir to the Iron Throne.” -Bran Stark
Jon Snow is presented as the bastard son of Lord Ned Stark, and he is raised alongside Ned’s lawful children at Winterfell but his true parentage is kept secret from everyone.
Photograph by HBO
In the Game of Thrones season 7 finale, it is revealed that Jon Snow is neither a Stark nor a bastard, but instead the son of Rhaegar Targaryen. This gives Jon the most legitimate claim to the Iron Throne. Jon Snow has shown time and time again that he would be the justest ruler. He values fairness over power, a belief that sets him apart from every other character in the show.
“Bitcoin has never been a bastard. It’s the heir to the global financial system.” -Millennial Mike
Now for the discussion that we have all been waiting for. I am in no way going to claim that bitcoin will completely replace the current global financial system. However, I do believe that bitcoin will play a significant role in the evolution of web 3.0 and the internet of money.
Just as The World Wide Web can be traced back to Tim Berners-Lee, bitcoin can be traced back to one name as well. Satoshi Nakamoto is the name used by the unknown person or people who developed bitcoin. Satoshi Nakamoto was able to solve the double-spending problem, which was a fatal flaw of previous electronic currency systems.
Double-spending is a problem unique to digital currencies because digital information can be reproduced relatively easily. Satoshi Nakamoto was able to figure out the solution using a peer-to-peer network, a concept which Sean Parker had pioneered a decade earlier at Napster. Bitcoin is run on a peer-to-peer shared public transaction log known as blockchain, which requires that all transactions be recorded.
As defined by Jeremiah Lowin, a blockchain is “a distributed, global, decentralized database.” It is distributed through a P2P network that is hosted by many computers across the globe, which makes it decentralized. The decentralized nature of the database allows people to trust its contents.
Disruptive technologies like bitcoin are similar to the character Jon Snow. As discussed by Andreas Antonopoulos, bitcoin was first ignored because those in power did not believe that it could possibly pose a threat. As it refused to die over the years, people started to take notice and began to mock it. When momentum really started to pick up, the informed had the epiphany that they should research the technology and began to experiment. Before we know it, a herd will be stampeding as everyone realizes that this technology will change the status quo.
The sequence of events that I paraphrased is from Andreas Antonopoulos’ talks in his book The Internet of Money. Generational technologies always follow the same cycle. People first ignored and mocked electricity, the automobile, and even the internet. From my personal experience and interactions with representatives from some of the most powerful companies in the world, I can tell you that many are researching and experimenting with their own version of blockchain technology.
“The genie is out of the bottle, Pandora is out of the box, and the Bitcoin Dynasty has already begun!” –Millennial Mike
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About Tradebits
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Tradebits uses the same principles that power and secure the world’s most demanding stock exchanges. One of Tradebits’ hallmark features its configurability to match the sophistication level of every cryptocurrency trader. Users of the exchange will have access to 24x7 live customer service as well as a myriad of 3rd party trading apps and resources through the Tradebits Marketplace. Tradebits gives back to its community by using 40% of all trading fees for the continuous purchase of XBITS tokens across various exchanges to generate upward price pressure.
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Author: This article was written by Mike Rogers, VP of Crypto Education & Research at Tradebits #Millennial #got #bitcoin
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