The Bitcoin Boom Rests On The Shoulders of 3 Libertarians

1. Friedrich Hayek One of Hayek's core ideals was the idea of decentralizing information to boost the way by which resources are allocated, providing the intellectual impetus for Wikipedia, among other Web 2.0 applications. Many of the ideas laid out in The Use of Knowledge in Society have had a substantial influence in how the virtual currency operates, specifically the idea of a decentralized block chain -- a key aspect in Bitcoin's success. It provides anonymity, reduce the risk for fraud and makes the system much more difficult to destabilize than a centralized one. 2. Murray Rothbard Rothbard has been a pioneer in monetary policy circles among a small group of anarchist libertarians for quite some time, but he's largely been viewed a fringe figure by academia. Bitcoin is the realization of Rothbard's emphasis on "sound money" over fiat currencies. The online currency's portable, durable, divisible, recognizable, marketable, homogeneous properties and stability in supply (There will never be more than 21 million Bitcoins), coupled with its ability to evade any sort of government oversight thus far make it a dream come true for Rothbardians. 3. Peter Thiel Thiel founded Bitcoin's predecessor in eBay's EBAY PayPal back in 2001. Like Bitcoin, PayPal was founded a means of payment that would cut out banks by allowing online payments to be sent from one party to another without a financial institution having to be involved. This makes both systems optimal for international money transfers, but Bitcoin is less expensive and also functions as a currency or investment, whereas Paypal does not.

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