Bitcoin was the world’s first decentralised digital currency. Invented in 2009 under the anonymous pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto, it facilitates anonymous electronic peer-to-peer payments, without the intervention of a central governing authority. Bitcoins - generated through ‘mining’ - a process where computer software challenges the hardware to calculate complex mathematical, time-consuming algorithms. The network pragmatically adjusts the difficulty of the algorithms as computer hardware evolves. Bitcoin exchange rates have increased up to 4000 percent since the beginning of 2013. At the turn of the last century, Melbourne was leading Australia with the adoption of Bitcoin, with over 40 stores accepting the digital currency as payment. A finite total of 21 million Bitcoins can be mined, predicted to last until 2140. The year is 2139, Melbourne. The economic, social, civil and urban climates are in drastic flux. The anonymity and unpredictability of Bitcoin imagines a volatile, tense environment. 2139 BTC is a cautionary tale of the future, explored through a multitude of scales and exaggerated environments, envisioning the culmination of a modern day gold rush. Created using: 3ds Max, VRay, After Effects and Premier Pro Master of Architecture - Design Studio E The University of Melbourne United Make
