Bill Gates has updated his stance on Bitcoin since calling it simply a “technological tour-de-force” months ago. Earlier today, speaking with Bloomberg TV’s Erik Schatzker, Bill Gates admitted “the Bitcoin technology is key.” Earlier today, Bill Gates gave the final speech at SIBOS 2014, the annual SWIFT banking conference held this year in Boston. The Gates Foundation recently pledged $50 million USD to fight Ebola worldwide.

In his speech, Bill Gates shared his vast well of experience with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations’ efforts to combat financial inequality around the world. Specifically, he spoke on the promise of digital financial services and how the world’s existing financial institutions should leverage them to provide services to the developing world. Always astute, Bloomberg News’ Schatzker took the opportunity in an interview to ask Bill Gates whether or not Bitcoin “fits the bill.” Though Bill Gates still has marked worries about Bitcoin’s use in terrorism and money laundering, it is clear that he now recognizes the promise of blockchain technology.

Check out the video below.

Eric Schatzker asked:

The need to move money from place to place – the cost to do so: the overhead, as you put it – makes me think, believe it or not, of Bitcoin. Because, some people have said: “Hey, you know? Bitcoin is the answer to those problems!”

This is Bill Gate’s full response:

Bitcoin is exciting because it shows how cheap it can be. Bitcoin is better than currency in that you don’t have to be physically in the same place and of course for large transactions currency can get pretty inconvenient. The customers we’re talking about aren’t trying to be anonymous. You know they’re willing to be known so the Bitcoin technology is key and you could add to it or you could build a similar technology where there’s enough attribution that people feel comfortable this is nothing to do with terrorism or any type of money laundering.

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