Bitcoin investors have been on a bit of a roller coaster the last month or so. Since mid-April the price of bitcoin has dropped about $US20,000 ($25,000). You’d think that’s got to hurt, but the true believers will say “BTFD” (that’s “Buy the f---ing dip”).

The innovation that underpins bitcoin is far more interesting than the invention of a digital money. The blockchain – the decentralised ledger than keeps track of individual bitcoin and prevents double spending – industrialises trust. Trust is a valuable building block of both the economy and civil society.