Topic: 2013-02-15 bbc.co.uk - Killing off cash: Could new tech mean the end of money? (Read 1101 times)
February 16, 2013, 10:11:46 AM
By form I mean paper vs. digital. It doesn't matter if your US dollars are in the form of paper bills or digitized on your iPhone. They still suck because they are fiat. Bitcoins whether they take the form of numbers in your online wallet or tangible Cassasicus (sp?) coins are valuable because they are a scarce commodity which can be used as real money.
February 16, 2013, 04:13:04 AM
The issue is not what form our money takes but what our money is. Gold and bitcoins are real money while US dollars, British pounds and other fiat currencies are not- no matter if they are in paper form or digitized.
While I agree with you, I would say that $, € and other fiat currencies are a form of money, only a (very) bad one. February 15, 2013, 11:26:47 AM
This article misses the point somewhat although there are some hints of the true problem with the world's monetary policies.
The issue is not what form our money takes but what our money is. Gold and bitcoins are real money while US dollars, British pounds and other fiat currencies are not- no matter if they are in paper form or digitized.
The issue is not what form our money takes but what our money is. Gold and bitcoins are real money while US dollars, British pounds and other fiat currencies are not- no matter if they are in paper form or digitized.
February 15, 2013, 04:29:19 AM
That's a great article. Big thanks to David Wolman for mentioning Bitcoin so positively. Once again, the BBC is our friend, which is a remarkable turnaround from the situation a couple of years ago.
February 15, 2013, 02:26:35 AM
Quote
Killing off cash: Could new tech mean the end of money?
Cash has been taking a beating lately.
Last week, Canada minted its last penny. Eurozone countries are working to restrict cash payments. Bitcoin is all the rage. Payments start-ups such as Square and iZettle are on a cash-killing mission, while non-profit organisations, governments, the World Bank, small businesses, multinational corporations, app developers, hippies, libertarians, liberals, right-wingers all have agendas that can be advanced by alternatives to cash, and they're all pushing to bring them about.
But like forecasts of flying cars, predictions of a cashless future have a history of failure.
This is in part because progress is incremental, and in part because physical money is a time-tested technology.
It's fast, widely accepted, anonymous and useful for old-school budgeting and when the power goes out.
Yet powerful forces are aligning against cash.
Together, they provide a glimpse of what a cashless or mostly cashless future might look like, and illuminate the promise of digital money, irrespective of whether cash is ever kaput or just increasingly marginalised.
....
But gold is not value incarnate. It's just another commodity, albeit a historically pivotal and impressively hefty one.
Those who grasp that fact, yet still distrust central bank-issued currencies, are turning to local and online options, barter exchanges, and the crypto-currency Bitcoin.
Cash has been taking a beating lately.
Last week, Canada minted its last penny. Eurozone countries are working to restrict cash payments. Bitcoin is all the rage. Payments start-ups such as Square and iZettle are on a cash-killing mission, while non-profit organisations, governments, the World Bank, small businesses, multinational corporations, app developers, hippies, libertarians, liberals, right-wingers all have agendas that can be advanced by alternatives to cash, and they're all pushing to bring them about.
But like forecasts of flying cars, predictions of a cashless future have a history of failure.
This is in part because progress is incremental, and in part because physical money is a time-tested technology.
It's fast, widely accepted, anonymous and useful for old-school budgeting and when the power goes out.
Yet powerful forces are aligning against cash.
Together, they provide a glimpse of what a cashless or mostly cashless future might look like, and illuminate the promise of digital money, irrespective of whether cash is ever kaput or just increasingly marginalised.
....
But gold is not value incarnate. It's just another commodity, albeit a historically pivotal and impressively hefty one.
Those who grasp that fact, yet still distrust central bank-issued currencies, are turning to local and online options, barter exchanges, and the crypto-currency Bitcoin.
Full Article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21427472
Jump to: