The digital currency community (me included) tends to be so enamored with the expanding uses for blockchain technology that we forget the rest of the world has yet to embrace Bitcoin, let alone alternative currencies…herein lies the problem.

In my experience, using the term ‘currency’ when explaining blockchain technology elicits a negative reaction.  Immediately people ask “is it legal?” and “don’t criminals use it to buy drugs?”.

Unfortunately, it’s the word currency that creates all the problems. While bitcoin may have been created as alternative to the existing financial system, the uses of the blockchain technology have moved well beyond a replacement for fiat currency.  In fact, as an investor I have found the non-financial uses to be the most interesting and promising.

On April 28, 2015 I will be giving a keynote speech at the Inside Bitcoins conference in New York - the title is: DigitalFX: A New Asset Class for Investors.  I chose this title several months ago and it was my attempt to make 'Bitcoin’ more familiar to investors in traditional asset classes.  Typically investors lump assets into four broad categories: Equities, Fixed Income, Commodities, and Currencies.  When I chose the title I thought there was a value in adding digital currencies to one of those buckets.

However, as the industry has rapidly expanded it has become clear that combining blockchain technology into the same bucket as fiat currencies does not accurately reflect the asset class. As blockchain enthusiasts, we all know there is more than just a currency - it now time for the rest of the world to embrace this revolutionary technology.

Re-branding Bitcoin and digital currencies as 'Blockchain Tech’ could have a significantly positive impact on mainstream acceptance.  When the worldwide web became the “internet” it shed much of its unsavory past - alternative currencies could do the same by re-branding to Blockchain Tech.

For my part, I will be keeping the title of my speech the same, but I will be changing the content to reflect the new brand Blockchain Tech.  Let me know if you agree or disagree…we as a community need to rally around a re-branding before we can expect mainstream acceptance.