18Bitcoin’s future比特币的未来
Hidden flipside另一面；反面 隐藏的另一面
How the crypto-currency could become the internet of money
加密货币是怎样变成互联网货币的
Mar 15th 2014 | From the print edition
Bitcoin: the original 比特币的由来
1.THE father has been found in time for 及时赶上his child’s funeral. That would appear to be 似乎是，仿佛，显示为the sorry 遗憾的state of affairs 事态，状态，情况好坏in the land of Bitcoin, a crypto-currency, if recent press coverage 新闻报道is to be believed. On March 6th Newsweek新闻周刊（美国一杂志）reported that it had足迹，踪迹tracked down 追踪Satoshi Nakamoto,中本聪Bitcoin’s elusive [ɪ'l(j)uːsɪv]难以捉摸的 creator. And on March 11th Mt Gox, the Japanese online exchange 交易所，交换，交流，兑换that had long dominated控制；支配；占优势；在…中占主要地位the trade in the currency before losing $490m of customers’ Bitcoins at today’s prices, once more再一次，重新filed 提出for 再一次申请bankruptcy protection, this time in America.
“父亲奔赴孩子的葬礼。”如果最近的新闻报道属实的话，那似乎会是比特币领域很遗憾的情况。3月6日，据《新闻周刊》报道，业已追踪到比特币发明人中本聪的踪迹，此人难以捉摸。日本的在线交易所Mt Gox长期以来一直是比特币行业的佼佼者，而如今，这一平台4.9亿客户的比特币被盗，于是，3月11日Mt Gox又在向美国申请破产保护。
2.In reality, things are rather different. Evidence证据，证明；迹象；明显 is mounting 增加；爬上 that Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, whom Newsweek identified as Bitcoin’s father, is not the relevant Satoshi. More importantly, Bitcoin’s best days 得意时代；全盛时代may still be ahead of优于，超过it—if not as a fully fledged成熟的；快会飞的；羽毛丰满的currency, then as a platform for financial innovation金融创新. Much as虽然，尽管（表让步）；非常像， 和…几乎一样 the internet is a foundation for digital services数字化服务, the technology behind Bitcoin could support a revolution革命in the way people own and pay for things. Geeks极客，专业人士of all sorts各种各样的are getting excited—including a growing number of 越来越多的venture capitalists,风险投资家，风险资本家 who know a new platform when they see one.
事实上，一切都是迥然不同的。不断增加的证据表明《新闻周刊》的报道是错的，多利安-蒲伦蒂斯-中本聪(Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto)和比特币之父中本聪并不是同一个人。更重要的是，如果比特币没有作为一种完全成熟的货币，而是作为金融创新的平台，那么达到比特币的全盛时代依然任重而道远。如同互联网是数字化服务的基石一样，比特币背后的科技可以引领一场革命，而这场革命可以改变买方和卖方的交易方式。各路极客们都异常兴奋，其中不乏渐多大批风险资本家，一旦一个新平台出现，这些人就会对其了如指掌。
3.To understand the enthusiasm in this modern currency, it helps to think about a very old one. Until the early 20th century the people on Yap,[jæp]雅浦岛an island in the Pacific Ocean,太平洋used large stone disks 圆盘，磁盘(pictured) as money货币，钱，钱币for big expenses, 开支；消费；损失，代价such as a daughter’s dowry.嫁妆，陪嫁，天资 Being very heavy, they were rarely 很少地；难得；罕有地 moved when spent. Instead, they simply changed owners. Every transaction交易became part of an oral history of ownership,所有权，所有制 which allowed islanders 岛民to know the proprietor [prə'praɪətə]业主；所有者；经营者of each stone and made it difficult to spend the same stone twice.
在了解比特币这种炙手可热的货币之前，让我们先来了解一下一种古老的货币。直到20世纪初，在太平洋一个名为雅浦的小岛上，人们用大石圆盘（如图）作为货币，用于大笔开销，比如女儿的嫁妆。由于这种石头非常重，人们在花费的时候很少移动它，而是通过改变所有者来实现买卖。每一笔交易都会变成所有权口述历史的一部分，因此，岛民们可以清楚地知道每块石头的所有者，从而不会产生同一块石头当两次货币来用的错误。
4.Bitcoins also don’t move around when they are transferred. They are best understood as entries 条目，记录，入口，项in a giant ledger, ['ledʒə]分户账，总账，分户总账 the “blockchain”, 块环链which contains the transaction history for every Bitcoin in circulation. It is kept up to date with始终跟上the help of cryptography [krip'tɔɡrəfi]密码，密码学，加密 and copious 丰富的；很多的；多产的computing power, 计算能力provided by a global network of tens of thousands of 成千上万；数以万计computers. Again,又，此外；再一次；再说；增加 openness helps the system remain secure: the blockchain is public so every participant can check whether a transfer 转账，过户，转让comes from the rightful 合法的，正当的owner.
同样，比特币在交易时也不会移动。最好将其理解为大型分户总账--“块环链”（blockchain）的条目，而这种块环链每一笔比特币交易的历史记录。这种块环链要求数以万计的全球计算机网络为其提供密码保护，而且所需要的计算能力也是惊人的。此外，开放性帮助系统维持安全：“块环链”（blockchain）是公开的，所以每一位参与者都可以核实是否转账来自合法的所有者。
5.This set-up 设置；配置；计划；组织；机构；装配is the first workable 切实可行的；可经营的；能工作的solution解决方案；溶液to one of the more nagging唠叨的；挑剔的；使人不得安宁的 problems扰人/ 烦人的问题of the digital realm: how to transfer something of value from one person to another without middlemen中间人，经纪人，调解人 having to make sure that the item is not copied 复制，备份，模仿or, in the case of 至于，在…的情况下money, spent more than once? And Bitcoin does the trick 获得成功，屡试不爽while being open (unlike conventional payment mechanisms,['mekənizəm]机制，原理，途径which aim for 瞄准，对准，致力于security安全，保证，证券（pl） by shielding[ʃi:ld]盾。保卫，包庇 themselves from outsiders). This means that third parties can make use of Bitcoin’s features without having to ask anyone for permission—as is the case with the internet.
这种设置首次提出了一种切实可行的方案，用于解决数字领域一个令人头疼的问题，即如何将一种有价商品从一个人转移到另一个人，而这种转移不用借助第三方即可确保条目不可复制或者对货币不会进行二次交易呢？比特币在保持开放性的同时获得了成功（传统支付机制是通过抵抗外界来实现自我保护，从而确保自身安全，而比特币与之不同）。这就意味着第三方不必征求任何人的同意即可利用比特币的这些原理，而这些原理是与互联网类似的。
6.Such “permissionless innovation”, “无许可创新”in the jargon, ['dʒɑːg(ə)n]行话，术语should in time 及时，适时result in 导致，引起，结果是a cornucopia [,kɔ:nju'kəupjə]of 丰富的，丰饶的applications.应用，申请，应用程序Bitcoin’s technology could be used to transfer ownership 所有权，所有制both in other currencies and of any kind of financial asset.金融资产 This, in turn, would allow the creation of decentralised exchanges 分权交易所which let asset holders trade 交易，买卖，对……进行交换directly. And money could be “programmed” to come with conditions:附带条件 for instance, it might be released推出，释放，发射，让与only if只要……就，只有……才 a third person agrees.
用专业术语来说，这种“无许可创新”将会适时导致大批应用程序的产生。比特币技术可以用来转移其他货币以及任何一种金融资产的所有权。这就为创造分权交易所提供了可能，从而资产持有人可以直接进行交易。一定条件下，可以对货币进行“编程”：例如只要第三方同意，就可以执行这一程序。
7.Some want ownership of devices设备，装置—a car, say—to be represented by 用……来代表，用……来表示a Bitcoin, or a tiny微小的；很少的 fraction分数，部分，碎片，片段of it. The car would work only when turned on with a key that includes the Bitcoin token. 表征；代币；记号This would make managing ownership of and access to physical assets实物资产much easier: the token could be sold or rented out temporarily, enabling flexible灵活的，可变通的 peer-to-peer car-rental schemes.计划 Such “smart property” 财产；性质，性能；所有权would turn the blockchain into a global registry 注册，登记处，挂号处of ownership in physical assets.
一些人想要拥有这些装置，比如说一辆汽车的所有权，而这些所有权要用一枚比特币或者比特币的一小部分来代替。只有用一把包含比特币的钥匙这辆汽车才能开动。这将会使管理实物资产的所有权以及进入实物资产变得更容易一些：代币可以出售或暂时出租，从而实现灵活的点对点汽车租赁计划。这种“智能性能”将会使块环链成为实物资产所有权全球登记处。
8.All that may sound like science fiction, but a growing number of startups are working on 从事，忙于bringing such applications to market. Coloured Coins and Mastercoin will soon release software that enables trade in other financial assets, including stocks and bonds. 债券The most ambitious project 项目，工程，计划，预测is Ethereum: it will launch a new blockchain, similar but unrelated to Bitcoin, with a programming language to encode 编码financial instruments 仪器；器械；工具；手段；乐器 and other contracts.契约，合同
这一切听起来像是在写科幻小说，但是越来越多的新兴公司正在忙于将这种应用投放市场。Coloured Coins 和 Mastercoin将很快推出能够使用其他金融资产进行交易软件，包括股票和债券。这些计划中，最有野心的要数以太坊（Ethereum）了：它运用一种编程语言对金融工具以及其他合约进行编码，从而建立一种与比特币类似但又与其不相关的新的块环链。
9.Although banks have mostly主要地；多半地；通常steered clear of 避开，从……脱身Bitcoin as a currency, they too have started exploring how they could use the technology in other ways. They are unlikely to move fast,赶紧行动，迅速行动 but there are plenty of possibilities. Global banks could, for instance, use Bitcoin-like systems to move money between subsidiaries.[səb'sidiəri]子公司，辅助者辅助的；附属的They could even issue their own crypto-currencies.加密货币
虽然大多数银行都否认比特币是一种货币，但它们已经开始探索在其他方面如何来使用这项技术。这些银行可能不会迅速行动，但是也存在着许多可能性。例如，全球银行可以利用与比特币类似的系统在在子公司之间进行资金转移。这些银行甚至可以发行自己的加密货币。
10.But turning Bitcoin into a platform comes with risks. Some geeks fret焦急，使烦恼，担心that the network will reach its maximum capacity of 300,000 transactions per day as new applications come online. Another worry is that as the blockchain, which has already trebled变成三倍in size to 15 gigabytes['dʒiɡə,bait] 十亿字节；十亿位组over the past year (see chart), continues to grow, fewer of the network’s participants will store it.
但是，比特币转化为平台还是有一定风险的。一些极客们担心当新的应用上线时，网络每天的交易容量将会达到300,000的顶峰。他们还担心由于块环链已经增加了两倍，达到了150亿字节，可能还会继续增长，这会导致几乎没有网络参与者会对这些字节进行保存。
11.Yet if history is any guide, the blockchain will be fine. Two decades十年 ago, when millions went online after the invention of the web browser, ['brauzə]浏览器pundits ['pʌndit]（某一方面的）权威，专家predicted the internet’s collapse. Technical fixes repeatedly saved the day. And even if Bitcoin were to break down, another similar system would most likely take its place.
然而，如果有前车之鉴的话，如今的比特币会发展得很好。20年前，网络浏览器发明之后，数百万的人开始上网，当时，权威专家预测互联网将会面临崩溃的窘境。技术修复屡次使其摆脱这一窘境。而且，即是比特币崩溃，另一种相似系统也很有可能会取代它。
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