Jules Quartly
2013-01-09
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2013-01/09/content_16097259.htm
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Which brings us to the Bitcoin alternative, a digital currency that works without banks or governments manipulating its value
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Even so there are many arguments against the currency (deflation-stagflation) that are too involved to go into here and I'm no economist. From a practical standpoint, you can get Bitcoins but you can't buy a pastry with them down the road. Major companies like Apple and Paypal are not fans of Bitcoin and it has fluctuated wildly in value, so it's obviously not ready for the big time.
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However, it is essentially just another kind of token, like shells or cash, but more in tune with this digital century. Getting rid of exchange controls, financial middlemen and bits of printed paper sounds like progress to me. And since I'm essentially paying for many goods in some virtual sphere already, it's not a huge leap to join the Bitcoin revolution or something like it.
My thinking is that since information is king, then data does seem like a good currency. But I wouldn't put my money on it yet.