比特币走背字的这些日子

    但是业界普遍推测，苹果这么做是一种反竞争的守门策略，旨在保护它自己独有的移动支付系统，而这方面的例子并不少见。从这个角度看，清除Blockchain就可以理解为是对比特币的鼎力支持——毕竟过去苹果也在自己的设备中封锁了所有谷歌公司（Google）的服务，从而让比特币业务留在那些优秀的公司手中。不过同时，比特币开发者们正在努力开发基于网络的解决方案，让iOS的用户可以重新进行比特币管理。

    而比特币所面临的真正障碍并未改变——主要是监管的不确定性和美国银行不愿意和比特币交易所合作。不过就算施瑞姆被捕后，纽约的监管者和银行们也还是针对比特币积极开展各种深入调查，所以这些问题可能终有解决的一天。

    不管怎么说，有一个最重要的事实一直没有改变。那就是，比特币是一个重大创新，它的市场也已走向成熟。尽管很可能其他一些数字加密货币会在创新上超越比特币，但数字加密货币的基本模式让如此众多的参与者解决了各种问题，因此它最后将被广泛采用会变成一个既成事实。对网上支付来说，它比现在大多数复杂的信用卡和自动交换中心（ACH）系统要有效得多，也更安全，能大幅削减交易手续费，减少欺诈造成的损失。它能实现真正的点对点支付，成本则近于零。而且它最终能让微支付模式成为可能。这是自互联网诞生以来人们就一直在梦想的事情，它也为作家和其他内容创作者开辟了大量潜在的新财源。

    这一切成为现实之前，我们肯定还会看到更多的反复和起伏。但今后五年间，道德失范、管理失误和那些保守主义者大喊谢天谢地之类的报道将越来越少。（财富中文网）

    译者：清远

    But there has been widespread speculation and ample precedent for the idea that Apple is engaging in anticompetitive gatekeeping, in this case to protect its own proprietary mobile payment systems. From this perspective, the removal of Blockchain can be taken as a perverse stamp of approval for bitcoin -- Apple has also blocked Google (GOOG) services from its devices in the past, putting bitcoin in pretty sterling company. Meanwhile, bitcoin developers are hard at work on web-based solutions to put bitcoin management back in IOS users' hands.

    The real obstacles facing Bitcoin haven't changed -- primarily, regulatory uncertainty and the unwillingness of U.S. banks to work with bitcoin exchanges. But even the day after Shrem's arrest, New York regulators and bankers hosted upbeat fact-finding sessions, so those problems may be on the way to resolution.

    Regardless, the most important things that haven't changed are bitcoin's fundamental innovations and the ripeness of its market. Though there is still the distinct possibility that some other cryptocurrency will out-innovate bitcoin itself, the basic cryptocurrency model solves problems for so many constituents that its eventual adoption is something of a fait accompli. It is vastly more efficient and secure for online payments than the current maze of credit cards and ACH systems, promising to reduce merchant fees and fraud losses. It allows true peer-to-peer payments, with near-zero costs. And it finally enables the micropayments model that has been dreamt of since the dawn of the Internet, opening up potentially huge new revenue streams for writers and other content creators.

    We are sure to see more steps backwards and forwards before all of this comes to fruition. But five years from now, a few ethical faults, management catastrophes, and protectionist Hail Marys will barely merit footnotes.