Somehow I got onto this blog story about Bitcoin (probably via a linktrain originating via a @bitcoinmedia tweet).
http://timothyblee.com/2011/04/18/the-bitcoin-bubble/I love crypto, and bitcoin stands at a neat crossroads of applied crypto and economics. I consider myself a student of the Austrian School, so I've been following bitcoin's fate with interest. I'd like it to "win" somehow, and perhaps it can. I must say I'm also a skeptic (as much as I love its technology). Here was a bit from the above blog I couldn't resist resharing:
Dollars underpin the American economy in essentially the same way that the TCP/IP protocol underpins the Internet. The original choice of a medium of exchange was arbitrary, but people needed to pick something and once the dollar was chosen it acquired tremendous momentum. Convincing Americans to switch to a currency other than the dollar is roughly as futile as convincing the Internet to switch to a protocol other than TCP/IP, and for the same reasons.
I remain interested to see how bitcoin can deal with this. Since my post above, we've seen bitcoin compute power and value in USD terms trail off, then lurch back to a point now modestly above parity again. Wild ride.
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