Photo Credit: GoodwinAndGoodwin.com
Most Americans, if they know the answer to the question “who invented the light bulb” at all, believe that it was Thomas Edison. But did you know there is some evidence to indicate that Thomas Edison originated the idea of an alternative currency exchange like Bitcoin?
That bit about the light bulb is not quite true. At least not in the way most of us have learned it in grade school. At the time of Edison’s invention, several people were working on developing a light bulb. What Edison invented, in addition to his version of the light bulb, was the network infrastructure (i.e. the ecosystem) to support the light bulb.
Edison had to arrange for coal barges to deliver coal from the mines in Pennsylvania to his new electrical generator which he built in NY City, string the wires to the business and homes of his subscribers, wire those business and homes and install the light bulbs. In addition, he had to develop metering and billing systems to charge his customers for the new service. Still, Edison’s unique mix of drive, ingenuity, and grit put him in a position to do this when few others could have pulled it off.
What has become painfully obvious in the past several weeks is that while Bitcoin (i.e. the latest “light bulb”) works, the supporting infrastructure (i.e. the ecosystem) doesn’t work. This is due to serious security issues which were never identified and/or addressed at its inception.
In the newest revelations pertaining to Bitcoin, and even going back to December 2013, we find some news reports that JPMorgan has been filing patent applications to gain control of a Bitcoin-like technology and the supporting ecosystem. Below are some news reports, links and two very recent patent applications by JPMorgan.
One of the standard tricks of the Capital City Ruling Class is to take a computer-generated document and render it as a non-searchable graphic in a PDF. The two attached PDFs from the US Patent Office have been OCR scanned to restore text searching.
Just as the Internet can be the greatest force for the liberation of humanity in the past ten thousand years, in the hands of a group like the NSA it can be the instrument of our enslavement. Likewise, Bitcoin, which has the potential of liberating financial transactions from the tyranny of government control, in the hands of a willing government proxy such as JPMorgan would give the government total control of the economy.
What is not yet apparent in any declaration is whether the Bitcoin technology is in the public Domain. GNU is happy to accept donations in Bitcode but there doesn’t appear to be any deceleration as to its status in GNU.
Bottom line: The Bitcoin Foundation had better start declaring all the technology in the public domain or plan to start paying very high royalties to JPMorgan.
Also included below is a report from Think Progress pertaining to the evils of Bitcoin, which is historically funny. It looks like Think Progress and JPMorgan may have found a common cause.
Bitcoin: By The Privileged, For The Privileged
Bitcoin rival or lost chance? J.P. Morgan applies to renew a 13-year old anonymous payments patent
J.P. Morgan files for digital-payment patent
JPMorgan Chase Building Bitcoin-Killer
Method and system for processing internet payments using the electronic funds transfer network (A patent application for Bitcoin by JPMorgan!)
System and Method for Sharing Information in a Private Ecosystem (Another JPMorgan patent application for a supporting ecosystem!)
Apparently the JPMorgan patent is not meeting with much success at the USPTO as the following report makes very clear.
JPMorgan’s “Bitcoin-Alternative” Patent Rejected (175 Times)
Meanwhile JPMorgan reaches new levels of hypocrisy.
Jamie Dimon is not a Bitcoin fan despite JPMorgan filing patent for similar payment system
The Right of the People 