Wednesday, December 25, 2013

The Dollar Will Never Fall to Bitcoin - Businessweek

Excerpt from another Bitcoin reality check
"Bitcoin is a store of value and a medium of exchange. It’s like really awesome gold. It’s not, however, a unit of account. Your mother cannot quote you the price of eggs in bitcoin. This is not just a question of waiting long enough for your mom to get around to using bitcoin. The state has tremendous power over the unit of account. It pays government contracts in the unit of its choosing. It collects taxes in that unit, too. The psychological weight of this power can last for centuries. Medieval Europe still accounted for its variety of coins in Roman units. Modern Europe uses the metric system because Napoleon wanted it so. It’s not clear why any state would choose to give this up.
The Internet beat up publishing and a couple of other industries. It’s having a harder time so far against the state. A currency is an asset with an army. Bitcoin has no army."
The Dollar Will Never Fall to Bitcoin - Businessweek

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