Bitcoin is Digital Energy

Abstract

Bitcoin is digital energy. This is part metaphor, part description. It is part explanation, part prophecy. It is part engineering, part finance. The digital energy that is Bitcoin is not mechanical, chemical, or electrical. It is the same “stuff” that saves you time when you draw on a store of knowledge. Digital energy is the “stuff” of networks. Digital energy is the “stuff” of information systems. If you build an information system, it can help you make better decisions faster. The “better and faster” is one of the ways that digital energy manifests itself in the real-world. It is the “stuff” that makes the study of the economics of information worthwhile. Digital energy is stored in networks, information systems, and gathered knowledge. It must be maintained. It can grow. It grows with the size and reach of those networks and systems. Digital energy can be transferred. You can give someone access to your information system, and they can make better decisions faster. Digital energy is drawn upon, but never drawn down.