Williams assumes that Bitcoin is ‘just’ an asset, but others such as Chris Dixon argue quite convincingly that Bitcoin is better thought of as a protocol similar to those which underlie the Internet:

The Internet is based on a set of core protocols that specify how information such as text, photos, and code should be transmitted. The designers of the Web built placeholders for a system that moved money, but never successfully completed it. Bitcoin is the first plausible proposal for an economic protocol for the Internet.

Is the Internet going to ‘pop’? No, technologies become embedded into daily life.

Read the Original Bitcoin White Paper here!

This would not be the first time someone misunderstood technology.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE4HOSjVhwA

The acquisition of Branch came as a surprise, given how critical Branch CEO Josh Miller has been of Facebook:

Facebook is clearly doing a good job delivering relevant content, yet its users (at least [my sister]) feel poorly when they use the service … Facebook may have an irreversible bad brand

Miller has also been outspoken against the lobbying organization of his new boss, Mark Zuckerberg.

To Mr. Zuckerberg, I would say this: One gets the sense that you are approaching FWD.us in the same way venture capitalists invest in start-ups. You put money and support behind a smart team tackling massive problems, with the faith that they will figure out the details along the way. However, that lack of introspection is ultimately harmful in the world of public policy. FWD.us is dealing with peoples' principles, pocketbooks, and ultimately, livelihoods, so I urge you to take a more thoughtful, transparent approach — not to “Move Fast and Break Things.”

Ah yes, but by who?

The news of the acquisition broke on Jelly, the night before Miller’s post was shared on Facebook.

Jelly is a new mobile app and lets users ask the people in their social network visual queries – the startup was co-founded by Biz Stone who HAPPENS TO BE AN INVESTOR IN BRANCH … just saying.

A picture of the Jelly Q+A that broke the acquisition news

Built by the team at Branch Media, Potluck is a web and mobile app “designed for friends to talk about cool things they find online.”

A Picture of the Potluck App UI

Jonah Peretti is the CEO and Founder of BuzzFeed, a news and media site known for their lists of pictures with accompanying witty commentary. Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C.

John Borthwick is the CEO of betaworks, a technology company that builds “products that will help define the future of media” and also makes small seed investments in startups like Grand St. AND RAP GENIUS!!!

Ryan Freitas is the co-founder of about.me, and” leads the product team in designing and building the site.”

Biz Stone is the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, and current co-founder and CEO of Jelly – a mobile app that allows users to ask people in their social networks visual queries.

Stone invested in Branch through Obvious Corporation, a VC/incubator he co-founded.

At the time, Stone wrote about the decision to invest in Branch:

The prototype, called Branch (formerly Roundtable), enables a smart new brand of high quality public discourse. Curated groups of people are invited to engage around issues in which they are knowledgeable. This service hold the promise of a new platform for dialogue on the web – a necessary departure from the monologues we have grown so accustomed to reading online. Obvious is thrilled to be partnering with such a friendly, gifted team on this project.

Evan Williams is the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, and current co-founder and CEO of Medium.

Medium is a new platform for publishing mostly long-form – or dare one say, medium-form – content.

Williams invested in Branch through Obvious Corporation, a VC/incubator he co-founded.

While Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, and Biz Stone are more publicly known, Jason Goldman is known as the Silent Partner of Twitter and has maintained a low profile.

He worked under 3 leaders at Twitter and at one point ran product development, including overseeing the expansive redesign that became “New Twitter”.

Goldman is a partner in Obvious Corporation along with Williams and Stone, and relocated to New York to coach Miller and the Branch team.