Bitcoin, the organism | Jeff Garzik | TEDxBinghamtonUniversity

After helping to inaugurate CNN.com on the Internet in the early 1990s, Garzik worked at a succession of Internet startups and service providers for over two decades, all while working on open source software engineering projects. Involvement in one of the best-known open source projects, the Linux kernel, led to an extended tenure at Linux leader Red Hat, during open source's most formative years. In July 2010, while reading slashdot.org, Garzik stumbled across a post describing bitcoin. Immediately recognizing the potential of a concept previously thought impossible − decentralized digital money − he did what came naturally: developed bitcoin open source software and started micro-businesses with bitcoin at their foundation. Almost by accident, Garzik found himself square in the middle of the global, disruptive, amazing hurricane of a technological phenomenon known as bitcoin. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)