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Posted on 12/30/2013 9:16:44 AM PST by Errant
Ever since President Nixon broke the US dollar's last link to gold, the world has been set adrift on a sea of fiat currencies that have been increasingly debased, serving the interests of governments and financial elites. For the last five years, central banks have imposed near-zero rates of interest that have helped push up stock, bond, and real estate prices, but have made it nearly impossible for savers to receive meaningful returns on bank deposits.
To make matters worse, the apparatus of national security has turned financial transactions into a massive exercise in government surveillance. Under the camouflage of 'protective' measures, such as the USA PATRIOT Act, governments have invaded the privacy of citizens and compromised banking secrecy in an unprecedented and often unconstitutional manner. Despite huge potential transaction-cost reductions achievable through advances in digital technology, banks continue to charge exorbitant transaction fees while maintaining transfer delays that reflect a pre-digital age. In addition, bank regulators, led by the IMF, have shown a willingness, in the case of Cyprus, to make depositors liable for poor banking decisions. Many private citizens may naturally see the status quo as a deliberate policy to crush middle-class savers and pave the way for centralized socialism. Some have sought a way out.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketoracle.co.uk ...
‘Voluntarily Homeless’ Man Lives Off Bitcoin, Android Tablet and a Solar Charger
The Reserve Bank of India Has No Plans to Regulate Bitcoin
Lamassu Announces Sale of 100th Bitcoin ATM
Six Places You Can Pay Bitcoin For Beer
I Like Beer! :-)
The use of the elephant in the room metaphor scores a reasonable point. Bitcoin is popular partially because central banks and the NSA have made citizens feel less free and less secure.
That and worries about sinking fiat currencies and coming capital controls.
I wonder if BitCoin will be around in 50 years, much less 5,000.
It’s a good read...savvy.
I still say CFTC, COMEX are manipulating AU and are in cahoots w/ GS, Morgan, etc. India’s and China’s demand is skyhigh as is demand for US Mint gold...but, gold keeps dropping...
Gold on the other hand was here before and will be here long after! :)
Hey wait...this thread has gone five posts with stupid cartoons or people calling it a Ponzi scheme. This is a frep record!
You’re right! lol
That’s a keeper link. Thanks for sharing! :)
If and when McDonald’s starts taking bitcoin for payment at its restaurants, only then will I believe it to be a legitimate form of currency. Right now, it’s just a high risk, speculative way for gamblers to gamble.
When/if it becomes a legitimate and widely accepted alternative currency,
it will be outlawed.
I wouldn’t say that Bitcoins are a Ponzi scheme. I would, however, say that they’re in a speculative bubble, and are even more volatile and risky than precious metals. They may become valuable as a way to exchange funds without government surveillance. So far, not surprisingly, that aspect of Bitcoin has appealed largely to the criminal element. There are also some question regarding the security of Bitcoin wallets and the sites that handle them. And then there’s the cut the Bitcoin brokerages take for brokering deals, although that’s not much difference than dealing with your bank and its service charges for everything.
I was being somewhat tongue in cheek.
I agree that it has been very volatile, and that needs to settle down before it is useful as “money.”
Speaking as a very small business owner, I can tell you the transaction fees for Bitcoin exchanges are significantly less than credit cards. Throughout the entire transaction the fees are about 25% of credit cards.
If you are a large retailer, that could be huge.
Overstock.com will begin accepting it early next year.
Once it becomes as common as PayPal, the price will level off.
IMO, it will take off because of the desire for a private currency but may be killed by government. Egold was a tiny a anonymous currency startup that exploded until government regulation set in. Initially it was bigger than PayPal due to the privacy. Bitcoin is much harder to attack due to decentralization.
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