The startup outlined its plans in a presentation titled "Smart Grids and the Blockchain – Bitcoin's first killer App" at the recent Bitcoin Conference Africa in Cape Town, South Africa. Lorien Gamaroff, founder and CEO of Bankymoon, is expected to give another presentation on May 14 at the Bitcoin Conference in Prague.

Modern "smart grids" permit efficient management of supply and demand, with Internet-connected "smart meters" that react to changing conditions and can be topped in real-time in case of need. According to Gamaroff, by 2023 most power grids will be smart: 80 percent of the grids in the United States, 60 percent in Europe and 45 percent in the Asia Pacific region.

"You'd think that with all the smartness happening in our grid, that the problems are solved," said Gamaroff. "But, in fact, this brings us to the most difficult and biggest problem of all, which is payments. Your grid could be as smart as you like but if all customers aren't paying, it's worthless and it becomes unsustainable and will collapse."