The mysteries of bitcoin are turning heads yet again this week. At the start of the year, the digital token was worth $1,000; on Thursday, it breached $16,000. This is eye-popping, particularly given that so few investors actually understand how cryptocurrencies really work.
But amid this frenzy, here is a more startling idea to ponder: what is happening with bitcoin is not actually the most head-spinning technological development in finance today. Far from it. Away from the public gaze, there are a host of other digital innovations emerging that have attracted little public attention, yet have more far-reaching implications.
Consider the structure of markets. A few decades ago, most investors assumed that markets were a place where human brokers traded securities, on behalf of flesh-and-blood investors, driven by strategies devised in their brains (or investment committees).