Patrick Byrne and the Blockchain

At the Austrian Economics Research Conference this year, Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com, discussed the many ways that the blockchain may be used in the future to facilitate exchange. Summarized in the most simplistic way possible: the blockchain, Byrne says, allows parties to exchange without first having to establish trust with each other, and without having to rely on legal authorities for enforcement. Naturally, this has implications for the usefulness of state authorities in regulating exchange.