Re: <nettime> bitcoin anyone?

["Patrice Riemens" <patrice@xs4all.nl>]

> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22105322
>
> So much for utterly stable market dynamics.

The 'killng app' (not 'killer' ;-)  of Bitcoin is indeed its spectacular
instability in value, which is built-in the concept and makes it useless
as currency for everyday transactions. However, as Dave Birch rightly
(immo) points out on

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21990136

there will come a new, anonymous digital currency in a near future, even
if it ios not (called) Bitcoin. A range of these virtual currencies, many
much less 'libertarian/ Austrian economics' than Bitcoin, are already on
the designers tables.

Having now read Jaromil's paper "Bitcoin, the end of the Taboo on Money',

http://www.dyndy.net/2013/04/bitcoin-ends-the-taboo-on-money/  (goto the pdf)

which started this whole thread, and which I highly recommend to everyone
- together with Michel Bauwens'  Bitcoin overview:

http://p2pfoundation.net/Bitcoin

I have come to the conclusion that even if Bitcoins totally sucks on
monetary economics and political/ideological grounds, the issues it raises
are worth very serious consideration - and are well expounded in Jaromil's
paper, for instance when it comes to the 'sovereignty' problem.

Financially speaking (and not only -) we are definitely in endgame now, as
'the system' is reaching the endstage of its now  decades long morphing
into a Ponzi scheme. My own take on
alternative/complementary/virtual-anonymous etc currencies has
consequently changed over the years from 'kooky' to 'kooky, but no more so
than the present dispensation' .

So yes to 'virtual currencies'? No, because the next problem is dawning on
our consciousness: the whole idea of transfer from atoms to bits is most
probably corrupt at its core, as the current hack-attacks on the banking
system indicate (and then: 'you ain't seen nuthin' yet!').

Instable media anyone?

Cheers from Groningen, p+4D!


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