Second, blockchain has the potential to defy authorities trying to enforce borders and national regulations – and it already does so in areas such as online gambling. In internet chatrooms some online gamblers say that using bitcoin enables them to disguise their identity and transactions.
The confidentiality conveyed by the currency is one source of its popularity. Bitcoin hit a record high this week, partly because of speculation that the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund is set to receive U.S. regulatory approval. After a sharp rise this year, the cryptocurrency reached more than $1,200 per bitcoin.
Ayre said last year that he saw a “growing convergence” of bitcoin and online gambling, according to the website CalvinAyre.com. Documents reviewed by Reuters show Wright’s links to online gambling go back decades and that bitcoin grew out of code originally developed with gambling in mind. Early bitcoin code, seen by Reuters and analyzed by a computer coding consultant with no ties to Wright or any blockchain-related project, contains unimplemented functions related to poker.
