Infamous cryptocurrency Bitcoin is renowned for enabling its users to buy illegal goods online. But thanks to a Berlin-based cluster of brick-and-mortar stores, people can buy a beer with Bitcoin now, too. But what do retailers stand to gain from accepting a currency that’s still so underused?

For many major banks, cryptocurrencies used to represent a financial experiment in its infancy. Now, they've become too lucrative to ignore. With trust in traditional institutions low, some banks are hoping that digital innovations will rebuild confidence and increase efficiency.

For all the hype around cryptocurrencies, they’re more practical as investments than as modes of payment. TenX has created a platform to enable people to spend cryptocurrencies with debit cards, in the aim of making it more user-friendly as a form of legal tender.

Blockchain, the digital scaffolding behind cryptocurrency bitcoin, has hit critical mass and is being taken seriously by major conglomerates and governments alike. Canvas8 spoke to technology strategist Paul Armstrong to understand how it might make an impact beyond the financial world.