Timeline, countries involved, and investment prospects

Asked how long this development will take, the Wonders list the governments working on it: the European Union, particularly France and England, Germany less so and on a different track, plus the United States, China, Russia and, less systematically, India.

They estimate 50 to 100 years before the gold standard is fully removed, depending on which country ends up dominant.

When Frederic doubts the capability of the programmers he has met, they tell him he has not met the best ones, who pursue it as an academic mind game without limitations.

They say this is not a doomsday scenario, but governments and rulers must decide how far they will use the emerging standard to define wealth and prosperity, and that a whole new field of economics will develop, since blockchain will shift things so fast that economists must change how they see economic movement.

They confirm there will be applications, companies and money-making opportunities, and equally opportunities for loss, but repeat that they cannot recommend investing in blockchain technology at this stage because it is volatile and not yet secure enough to ensure continuity of wealth.