Bitcoins and quantum computing

Back in April of this year, I wrote about a quirky new virtual currency called bitcoin. At that time, it was just three years old and amazingly, valued at 1 BN. Forbes magazine at that time called it a "disruptive technology." They state their opinion in a well-written, understandable piece of logic:

"A financial network is a technological platform that people build businesses on top of. And the traditional banking and credit card networks are closed platforms. If you want to build an e-commerce site, a payment network like Paypal, or any other service that deals in dollars, you need to convince incumbent financial institutions to do business with you. Getting such a partnership is difficult and involves a lot of red tape.

There’s a good reason for the high barrier to entry: electronic transactions in the conventional banking system are generally reversible. If someone makes a fraudulent charge to your credit card, you can dispute the transaction and in most cases the bank or the merchant, not the customer, will cover the cost. That’s convenient for consumers, but it requires the financial system to be a fairly close-knit web of trust. Allowing a new member into the club creates risks for everyone else. So the incumbents are understandably reluctant to deal with anyone who isn’t well-known and well-capitalized.

Bitcoin is different. Because transactions are authenticated cryptographically and cannot be reversed, there’s no need to restrict access to the network. There’s no risk to accepting payments from complete strangers. That means people don’t need anyone’s permission or trust to go into business as a Bitcoin-based merchant or financial intermediary."

So how is bitcoin doing three and a half years after debut, and 7 months after it poked through the ceiling of global consciousness? Pretty durn good. The Verge has a piece on bitcoin from last night.
Source
Bitcoin hits $700 during surprisingly friendly Senate hearing on the virtual currency
"Bitcoin, the decentralized virtual currency that approximates cash on the internet, had a big day today. The four-year-old currency had its first hearing in Congress as experts from the government, the Bitcoin community, and the nonprofit sector appeared to discuss the implications of the growing popularity of virtual currencies. And while that testimony took place, a single Bitcoin soared to $700 on the market at the tail of a two-week climb."

"Virtual currencies, perhaps most notably Bitcoin, have captured the imagination of some, struck fear among others, and confused the heck out of many of us," Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told a packed room."

"The hearing was the culmination of a three-month investigation into Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, he said. The proceeding was made up of two panels. The first featured Jennifer Shasky Calvery, the director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; Mythili Raman, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice; and Secret Service agent Edward W. Lowery III."

The above article concluded ended with this "While the hearing was frontloaded with discussion of the potential for virtual currencies to be used for crime, there was no sense of alarm about the strange new world of Bitcoin. "

So far from being disruptively and wild N woolly, the bitcoin is settling into its place in commerce and in governmental mindsets. It is traded on the exchange, and is gaining investors, according to TechCrunch. The Chinese bitcoin exchange "pile onto bitcoin" and is gaining momentum. Bloomberg goes so far as to say it is gaining credibility. Bloomberg reminds us that "Bitcoins ... exist as software and aren’t regulated by any country or banking authority," and this is a remarkable statement because the currency didn't even exist three years ago.

It is prophesied that the false prophet will force all to accept a mark of worship that will not only ally the recipients with satan via the antichrist but allow the recipients to buy or sell, (Revelation 13:16-17). People who refuse the mark will not be allowed to buy or sell. This is an intriguing prophecy. For millennia, it has been impossible for commenters, theologians and interpreters of the bible to understand how one man could control all of the world's commerce by regulating its currency and to know instantly at point of sale who is allowed to buy or sell- and who is not. They believed it, they just couldn't envision it.

However, since technological times in this generation, people have accepted that somehow the world economy will be remade to the point where one currency will circulate, but before the internet was invented the best they could envision was that it'd have something to do with barcodes.

The barcode was invented in 1952 but it wasn't used commercially  until 1974. That is not so long ago. I was in high school. Since then, technology has made envisioning some of the previously more difficult and obscure prophecies not only clear but almost realized in our lifetime. Whether bitcoin will be THE currency used to fulfill the prophecy, or another one will be, it is increasingly clear that since this generation was born there have been astounding technological advances that not only laid the groundwork for the prophecy to be fulfilled but the details of it to be envisioned with clarity and precision.

Think about it- prior to 1974, no barcodes were in use in commercial economy. Since then we've had the advent of the internet, a global economy, and new currencies. One may buy and sell virtual items without ever touching money. A kindle book is one example. eCommerce is de rigueur.

Parallel to the bitcoin's rise is the necessity for supercomputers to handle the world's increasingly virtual commerce. And just yesterday, a quantum computing record was set. If there is to be a new currency and if it is to be virtual-based, the world will need faster computers to maintain these commerce and banking records. Enter quantum computing. Instead of using silicon based transistors, a quantum computer "will harness the power of atoms and molecules to perform memory and processing tasks."

"Notoriously hard to manipulate and even more difficult to maintain Quantum memory states are often best controlled at absolute zero, however this new record has shattered previous estimations by being carried out at room temperature." (source)

And the record that was "shattered" was that the quantum computer was maintained at room temp for 42 minutes. That's a huge leap. A quantum leap. Sorry. Couldn't resist.

With our old global economy on the brink, fiat money increasingly diluted, and new currencies popping up, combined with the convergence of all other prophecies such as the rapid decline of society, rise of apostasy, and Christianity's great shrinking, it seems to me that we could actually see the Messiah in our lifetimes- if not sooner.

Comments

  1. I am way too simple to understand this concept. Virtual anything makes no sense to me.

    But I'll amen your last paragraph!

    -Carolyn

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  2. Excellent post.

    The bitcoin "block chain" is public, that means with supercomputer power every transaction can be tracked and identified. As Constance Cumbey said in the comments section of her last post, it would not be much of a leap to imagine using "Digital Angel" or "Internet of Everything" to track the *Users* in addition to the transactions (already tracked by bitcoin).

    http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=11772087&postID=4460383218341022464

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  3. The value of this earth based system isn't worth two bits when the Almighty pulls the plug. And those who trust in such things will have virtually no hope.

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    1. Which unfortunately will be most, because we have to eat. It will be hard to evangelize that Jesus is their savior when anything that comes along which will "save" their lives will become their savior. Even more so if that worldly savior is pious, perhaps even impersonating Christ himself.

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    2. Hello hopeful_watcher,

      The rapture will happen prior to the Tribulation, as I've shared with you via scripture many times. The number of the Gentiles raptured prior to the Tribulation (Romans 11:25) will very likely be small. Perhaps surprisingly small. The picture of the rapture prior to the tribulation is shown in, for example, Genesis 19. Of the four cities destroyed that day (Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim,Deuteronomy 29:23 ), only 4 people were saved, and one turned out to be apostate. We don't know what the number of the Bride is but we know when it is complete the Bride will be called to the Groom and the Groom will unleash His wrath on the unbelieving Israel and the world.

      I agree with you that the remaining unbelieving world will be attracted to anyone with a plan, material goods, or charisma, because they will be yearning for such. Yet a delusion will be sent to them so that they will believe the lie. (2 Thessalonians 2:11). Most interpreters believe that "THE" lie is that the Antichrist is savior. In any case, the verse says that the people will believe what is false.

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  4. Bitcoin or some other virtual currency may become the digital asset which is moved around, but it will still require an electronic system to make the transactions possible. THere is a very simple system already in place that is so ubiquitous that it is on every product and the ability to read it is in every store and soon to be in everyone's pocket. It is the barcode and scanners/ cell phones. Yes, it has been around for a very long time, which makes it a perfect candidate. It is tried and tested. It has been pegged as the mark many times in the past that people laugh it off and brush it off as conspiracy.

    Things that speak of its ability to be "the mark"
    - it is associated with buying and selling
    - it can easily be made into a tattoo. As a matter of fact, some get them as a fashionable way to denote their birthday or some other number
    - associate this with some other ubiquitous number (like a social security number), slap on a three digit country prefix (yes they already have them) and you literally getting the number of a man... Your number which must be calculated
    - every barcode has three special set of double lines at the beginning, middle and end. The ones that often are longer than the other lines. These special double lines are not numbers, but are there to orient the scanner so that the code can be scanned in either direction and will come to the same result. Even though they are not a number, the line pattern IS identical to another number code. That number is the number six and there are three of them. Quite literally, every barcode has the number equivalents of 6-6-6 in every barcode, which without it the system would not work.

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  5. Today's drudgereport.com has an article on this: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304607104579210051252568362

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    1. Do you remember the Ameros currency? I have a 2007 UNA 20 AMEROS Prototype Currency coin. It's pure copper and proof finish. It's from: http://www.dc-coin.com/search.aspx?find=una+20+ameros&log=false&high=25.00

      UNA stands for Union of North America.

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    2. I do remember the Amero! It was not so long ago!

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  6. I think its important to note that the meteoric rise of the bitcoin is due in no small part to its being THE currency of the deep web. If you're not familiar with the deep web, its certainly worth researching, just do so with caution. It's more than a little unnerving to see an untraceable currency of unknown origin receiving widespread acceptance in economic circles, especially when that currency's growth is the result of its use in the trafficking of illicit material, drugs, prostitution, contract murder, pornography, and worse on the deep web. The origin of the currency is 'unknown', but as we know, it is not really unknown; one only has to look at the fruits...

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    1. As with any currency, it buys licit material and illicit material. One can regulate the currency, but not the choices the consumer makes with it. And I'm not sure what you mean by 'deep web'? I suppose 'deep web' can be just as shadowy as 'behind the Fed' or back room dealings at the Bilderberg group.

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    2. More info on the deep web can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Web (it's,Wiki, I know...) The deep web is home to the most vile content and services on the planet; orders of magnitude worse than anything you could find on the searchable web. And you're right about currency re: choices - however I believe what makes the bitcoin unique is its origins are rooted almost wholly in the illicit; it originated as a means for people who traffic the deep web to perform anonymous transactions, buying and selling all manner of evil. The bitcoin's financial network is advanced and vast, it's seen its market capitalization go from 0 to over a billion in a matter of a few years, the EU has recognized it, the US is discussing matters of regulating it...and, amazingly, no one knows where it came from.

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    3. Thank you for the explanation, it's interesting. In that case, should the bitcoin or any of its descendents become the mark of the beast, it will fit right in.

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  7. How I can get bitcoin? If anyone can answer me on my e-mail I would be very thankful! jancic94@gmail.com

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    1. Mladen, I googled "How to obtain a bitcoin" and the first page of results from that search query were answers to your question, including a bitcoin FAQ. I am sure there are many resources on the web for you to check out. I really don't know anything about bitcoins other than that they exist and are in the news right now.

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  8. This is crazy cause me and my family were talking about god and this came up. So I came home to look it up and were not the only ones who came to this conclusion. My mind was literally blow. When you use a phone you hold it in your hand and hold it up to your head. Claiming the two spots for the mark of the beast. The US current is bound to collapse sooner or later, and now there is the bit coin. an electronic currency that could replace what we have now. That would require the use of a portable electronic device. Maybe not today but I think this will eventually evolve to that. We already store are entire lives in the phone, and we are obsessed with having it. Also the internets world wide web "WWW" is 666 in hebrew. We have phone numbers and IP addresses that now give us a number. Now that I know this it makes me wonder if can live without my phone.

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    1. Your phone is not the mark of the beast, any more than a Princess phone was, or a dial phone, or an old timey Andy Griffith phone. The verse says-

      Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,e to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. Rev 13:16-17

      It will be an indelible and irreversible mark on or in the hand or forehead. Not holding a phone.

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