Inspired by HeavyMetal's thread title:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/hiding-precious-metals-from-the-government-with-bitcoins-99274I hope the title speaks for itself, for I would have no clue as to how to build such a thing, but sure the hell can put in a lot of input.
My guess would be that it'll be based on a similar protocol that the Bitcoin client is, but the mining results would all be metals instead of coins, from the most precious on down to the least valuable. That way a person with only a CPU can mine to his/her heart's content without feeling left out, because he'll/she'll will always be able to mine the lower valued metals valued a tad more than the electric cost.
It'll be nice if this idea were more visual than the way mining Bitcoin is set up--just a bunch of text.
Of course, virtual commodity exchanges would have to be built, and the metals would only be exchanged for bitcoins, then can be converted to cash, but can also be used to purchase products and services.
Each miner would have the option of storing their metals on their computer or at Fort Gox, for lack of a better name. One could use the services of MyCryptoMetal to convert their metal to Bitcoin, whereupon... On second thought, what the fuck was I thinking?
Seriously, something to think about for all you coders and investors out there.
~Bruno~