Bitcoin 2.0

A couple of weeks ago, in my Halloween post Bitcoin : Trick -or- Treat?, I was baffled by a new term.

That last reference mentions 'Bitcoin 2.0 technology'. I wonder what that means.

The reference was When, Not If: Bitcoin in Israel, and the context was

There were two things that struck me as particularly interesting about the Tel Aviv Inside Bitcoins conference. First, there was a heavy emphasis on Bitcoin 2.0 technology. Presentations from Colored Coins, Ethereum, Mastercoin, Lazooz, and others played a significant role in the tone of the conference. I found this to be very interesting, especially as many throughout the globe are still trying to understand and utilize Bitcoin 1.0.

Google to the rescue, as usual. Its first search result was Bitcoin 2.0 Applications, where I found,

The technology underlying the system -- the blockchain and mining effort to confirm and validate transactions on the blockchain -- is potentially even more exciting and valuable than the currency. Bitcoin mining serves a dual purpose: it creates new bitcoins to increase the money supply and simultaneously secures and verifies the blockchain, which is a public ledger of every transaction.

While this functionality serves to keep internal bitcoin-bitcoin transactions valid, it can also be used to confirm and validate external, non-bitcoin specific transactions. In other words, this enables the application of decentralized public ledgers for purposes other than digital currencies. These applications are referred to as Bitcoin 2.0.

In other words, Bitcoin 1.0 is where you find the people who are interested in bitcoin for its libertarian angle, for the currency. Bitcoin 2.0 is where you find the technologists. Many people are in both camps.

Another interesting quote I found in 'Bitcoin in Israel' developed the other half of 'two things that struck [the author of the piece]'.

Second, which I found more surprising, was the fact that Bitcoin was seen as a clear and obvious inevitability, by all parties. Now for ordinary Bitcoiners, this doesn’t sound like a shocking statement, considering our natural optimism. But it wasn’t just Bitcoiners sharing this sentiment. There were speakers from Israeli Parliament as well as the Central Bank of Israel. I remember my jaw hitting the floor when I heard a Central Banker make reference to when Bitcoin becomes systematically valuable, just like the dollar or euro. Not if, but when.

I've encountered a similar sentiment in other sources. Why Israel?