Everyone seems to be stuck on the issue of faking gold. Ultrasound is much more effective, and far less expensive. As I explained, with only a few equally powerful participants in an exchange, it becomes nearly impossible for any one to defraud the others for long, if at all.

Gold is not going to be used as a transactional currency for any major period of time. It functions best as a reserve currency used for sizeable trade balance settlements. In other words: gold is the money of nations and entities far larger and more powerful than the individual. Yet any individual holding gold will have a piece of that immense wealth.

Bitcoin is the individual's method of garnering a similar handle on wealth. Ripple and other systems will develop into more effective fiat replacements, allowing Bitcoin to act as a settlement currency - gold's digital analog.