To all those people comparing bitcoin to gold - don't kid yourself into thinking they're very similar.  Gold exists in a physical sense.  Of course this has been brought up before.  But it hasn't been taken seriously.

  It is much easier for a bitcoin to disappear forever than it is for an oz of gold to disappear.  Therefore, it is quite possible for there to be a much more rapid rate of deflation than of what there would be with gold / silver / oil or any other supposed to be deflationary assets.  No one can simply claim how the market will react to this deflationary asset because none like it have ever existed.

  This is an experiment.  This is a beta.  Really.  And to be frank, the most recent monetarist experiment of the 20th century failed miserably.

  Bitcoin is meant to be a universal currency.  Not something just for libertarians.