Can Bitcoin ever become a practical currency? It may not seem quite as shiny as it did a year ago, but not everyone believes Bitcoin has entirely lost its luster. In this Bloomberg podcast (listen, runtime: 30:52), Bitcoin Advisory Founder Pierre Rochard allows his unbridled enthusiasm for the decentralized cryptocurrency to drive the discussion, but somehow manages at the same time to bring a much-needed dose of realism to the question of how recent breakthroughs in technology could finally bring Bitcoin into the mainstream.

Lightning software is key: Crucially, he breaks down how the Lightning software he has been working on could make possible the process of using Bitcoin to conduct even simple transactions — like buying a coffee. We learn that in fact Bitcoin Founder Satoshi Nakamoto had wanted to embed the technology that would allow payments to be run without the often-cumbersome global broadcasting system, where every transaction adds a new layer of data to a blockchain ledger that everyone has to verify. Both Lightning and complementary Neutrino software can now help to bypass many of these implementation problems, creating a more efficient system and offering the user more options in terms of Bitcoin storage, trading and practical transactions.