????2013年以來，業(yè)界一直在鼓噪要努力使復(fù)雜的金融功能成為比特幣的一部分，但2014年才是真正開花結(jié)果的年份。對這些功能最積極的開發(fā)活動都是在“大師幣基金會”（Mastercoin Foundation）主導(dǎo)下進(jìn)行的。這是一個開發(fā)者們按照與大多數(shù)“加密數(shù)字貨幣項(xiàng)目”同樣松散的合作方式組成的非營利組織。它是基于威利特的白皮書和編程建立起來的，旨在往比特幣數(shù)據(jù)區(qū)塊鏈里增加眾多金融功能，包括允許用戶創(chuàng)建全新的資產(chǎn)類別，比如股票或其他所有權(quán)證書，同時創(chuàng)建一系列自動“智能合同”。

????一些單打獨(dú)斗的創(chuàng)業(yè)者也在努力建設(shè)這個基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施。其中一位就是雷吉?米德爾頓，他目前正在打造一個叫BTC Swap的客戶端。他聲音沙啞，短小精悍，看起來很像個生意人，跟傳統(tǒng)上那種年紀(jì)輕輕、邋里邋遢的比特幣開發(fā)者形象迥異。但他狡黠地稱自己“不算是個無政府主義者”，而且BTC Swap恰恰就是直接對目前的金融業(yè)發(fā)出的警告。BTC Swap目前還處于早期開發(fā)階段，旨在促進(jìn)米德爾頓所說的“零信任數(shù)字合同”的發(fā)展。它主要是用軟件代碼來重新實(shí)現(xiàn)各種金融功能，直接撮合交易的供需雙方，而不再需要中介機(jī)構(gòu)的幫助。由于這些合同自動簽署、即刻完成，同時它們主要適用于那些已經(jīng)在比特幣數(shù)據(jù)區(qū)塊鏈上有所體現(xiàn)的資產(chǎn)，因此米德爾頓稱它們能消除交易雙方的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，也能大幅降低傳統(tǒng)的銀行和中介機(jī)構(gòu)收費(fèi)。

????米德爾頓希望，他這套系統(tǒng)眼下立刻就能發(fā)揮的功能是用比特幣來對現(xiàn)有的各國貨幣進(jìn)行套期保值交易。鑒于比特幣的價值目前仍然波動劇烈，米德爾頓宣稱分散的套期交易如果可行，將能確保那些持有比特幣的個人手中資產(chǎn)的價值，同時讓系統(tǒng)保持穩(wěn)定（考慮到很多人一直對比特幣持懷疑態(tài)度，應(yīng)該會出現(xiàn)大量買家賣空比特幣對沖美元）。而且，整個系統(tǒng)都要依靠去中心化才能確保安全性和可靠性。米德爾頓說：“我的這些合同都是點(diǎn)對點(diǎn)的，如果有人黑了我的服務(wù)器，他們什么都得不到?！甭犅牐腥嗽谶@里叫陣呢。

????由于點(diǎn)對點(diǎn)貨幣交易的成本極低，這種對沖功能確實(shí)有很獨(dú)特的發(fā)展前景。比特幣使少至一分錢的幾分之幾這種微交易也能進(jìn)行，但米德爾頓說：“就現(xiàn)在來說，如果進(jìn)行這種微支付，比特幣價值的巨大波動肯定會讓你損失慘重?！倍?yàn)槊椎聽栴D的互惠信貸端成本很低，“我能讓（受款人）掌控風(fēng)險(xiǎn)并將波動性降到極低的水平?！?/p>

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????Efforts to make complex financial functions a part of Bitcoin have been bubbling through 2013, but 2014 will see them come to fruition. The most prominent active development of these functions is taking place under the auspices of the Mastercoin Foundation, a nonprofit organization of developers along the same loose, collaborative lines that define most "cryptocoin projects." Mastercoin, based on Willett's white paper and programming, is projected to add many functions to the Bitcoin blockchain. These include allowing users to create new asset classes, such as stocks or other ownership certificates, and create a variety of automated "smart contracts."

????Independent entrepreneurs are also working to build this infrastructure. One of these is Reggie Middleton, currently building a client called BTC Swap. Middleton, gravelly voiced, dapper, and businesslike, doesn't fit the stereotype of woolly young bitcoin developers. But he slyly describes himself as "not quite an anarchist," and BTC Swap is a shot directly across the bow of the financial industry. Still in early development, BTC Swap is planned to facilitate a variety of what Middleton calls "Zero-Trust Digital Contracts," which recreate financial functions in software code by matching offered and desired transactions between parties without the need for intermediary institutions. Because these contracts are automated, instantaneous, and executed with assets already represented in the Bitcoin blockchain, Middleton says they eliminate counterparty risk while also subtracting conventional banking and brokerage fees.

????The most immediate function Middleton envisions for his system is for hedging bitcoin against existing national currencies. With bitcoin's valuation still showing huge volatility, Middleton claims the availability of distributed hedging will both ensure the value of bitcoin for individuals holding the asset and provide systemic stability. (Given persistent skepticism, there should be plenty of takers to short bitcoin against the dollar.) And the entire system relies on decentralization for its security and integrity: "My contracts are peer-to-peer," says Middleton. "If you hack my servers, there's nothing to get." Somebody call Target (TGT).

????Such hedging functions have particularly unique promise because of the extremely low transaction costs of peer-to-peer currency. Bitcoin makes microtransactions ranging down to fractions of a cent viable, but Middleton says that "right now, if you do micropayments, the volatility of bitcoin can really take you out." Because of the low cost of Middleton's swaps, "I can let [payees] manage risk and decrease volatility at the micro-level."