5 Must-Watch TED Talks on Bitcoin & Blockchain

There is nothing like a good TED Talk to boost your self-esteem, get fresh ideas on a particular topic and, of course, learn new things. We all love them for many reasons. From their captivating subjects to their highly motivational speakers, they have it all covered.

Let’s be honest. Cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology — blockchain — aren’t exactly what you would call ‘easy topics’. Hopefully, the cool folks from TED have been hosting dozens of talks focused on these subjects. But before you go on scrolling down Youtube for hours, you might want to take a look at the ones we have carefully selected for you.

Yeap. That’s right. We’ve curated the top five must-watch TED Talks on blockchain, bitcoin and cryptocurrencies for you. Put on your headphones on and jump into this journey of wisdom!

#1 | How the blockchain is changing money and business

If you’re starting from scratch in the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain, look no further. This talk provides a perfect introduction to the distributed ledger technology, outlining its mechanics and opportunities to revolutionize finance and businesses alike.

The speaker? Don Tapscott, Executive Chairman of the Blockchain Research Institute and author of 16 books on innovation and the impacts of new technology in business and society. He is an Associate of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University and a Senior Advisor at the World Economic Forum.

In less than 20 minutes, Tapscott offers you easy-to-understand answers to basic questions, such as “What is blockchain?”, “How blockchain works?” and “What is Bitcoin?”. Later on, he explains how blockchain helps simplify the messy financial services industry and turns inefficient, complex business processes into transparent ones, potentially saving millions of dollars in operational costs for companies.

Our pick: Tapscott points out that blockchain technology has the power to make the world more prosperous by protecting rights through immutable records, creating a ‘true’ sharing economy, ending the remittance rip-off, giving citizens control over their data and guaranteeing fair compensation for content creators.

#2 | Future of Blockchain

Okay. The title isn’t truly impressive. We agree on that. But trust us, this 8-minute presentation will enlighten you with an entirely different perspective on blockchain implementation. Chelsea Rustrum — author of “It’s A Shareable Life” — goes over the limitations of the sharing economy and shows how blockchain technology could be used to generate positive changes in this field.

How is that Airbnb got as powerful as Hilton in just 5 years? Are Uber drivers fairly rewarded for their jobs? What about the ownership of their vehicles? In Rustrum’s opinion, none of the current ‘sharing economy’ companies are really sharing anything. Instead, these companies are building value on other people’s ownership, offering no proportional rewards.

Following this line of thought, she introduces blockchain technology as a unique and effective solution to distribute value and share ownership rights.

#3 | How the blockchain will radically transform the economy

Not so fast, smarty pants! The above TED Talks were just to get you warmed up. Here is one for those willing to dig a little deeper on how blockchain actually helps improve the economy.

Bettina Warburg — a blockchain researcher, entrepreneur and educator — explains why this distributed ledger technology takes centralized institutions like banks or governments out of the equation when it comes to commercial operations.

Warburg suggests that blockchain plays a vital role in reducing uncertainty by enabling identity management, asset tracking and reneging on deals.

#4 | Digital currencies like bitcoin are coming

Global remittance is worth about $689 billion, according to recent World Bank data. In each transaction, intermediaries like Western Union and MoneyGram charge senders up to 20% and take several days to process transactions. A very lucrative business, yet an extremely inefficient way to send money for people. For many years, these remittance services were the only choices for billions of people to support families back at their home countries. Not anymore.

Juan Llanos, a mentor and advisor at various cryptocurrency projects, explores the benefits posed by digital currencies in disrupting internationally money transfers. From enhanced security to instant processing to zero fees, Llanos goes over each and every attribute. With mobile applications, such as Crypterium, you can now send and receive money in seconds without paying any fees. Digital money that can be spent with a debit card, transferred to a bank account or used to pay bills, taxes or anything else you want.

Born and raised in Argentina, this advocate of blockchain technology has experienced the flaws of the financial system himself. Hyperinflation, the Peso meltdown, local banks keeping people’s savings… Cases and stories repeated across many countries in the world. Llanos takes these experiences and compares traditional currencies with digital ones, offering a new vision on cryptocurrencies and they could help avoid future crisis.

#5 | How cryptocurrency can help start-ups get investment capital

Have you ever heard of the term ICO? If this isn’t your first attempt to learn something about cryptocurrencies and blockchain, then you most likely have. Initial Coin Offerings have been developed as an alternative for tech projects to access capital. But why?

Tech entrepreneur Ashwini Anburajan takes you on a ride through the world of venture capital and how digital currencies are changing the way startups raise money, the reasons behind this bold move, as well as the impact in the democratization of investments.

About Crypterium

Crypterium is one of the most promising fintech companies, according to KPMG and H2Ventures. We are building a mobile app that meets the banking needs of the digital assets era.