The Bitcoin Strikes Back

smitty777 writes "Slashdot readers are no doubt informed of the infamous crash of Bitcoin. In fact, its demise was followed closely here. Wired has a recent article tracking Bitcoin's climb out of chaos. Valued at $17 before the crash, it had lost 90% of its value due to the hacking incident, down to a low of $2. It climbed back up to $3 in December, and is currently valued at $4. From the article: 'Bitcoin boosters have traditionally suggested that Bitcoin is an alternative to [the world's] currencies. But we'll suggest an alternative explanation: that Bitcoin is not so much an alternative currency as a "metacurrency" that allows low-cost and regulation-free transfer of wealth between nations. In other words, Bitcoin's major competitors aren't national currencies, but wire-transfer services like Western Union.' Still, Bitcoin has significant obstacles to overcome, such as covert mining, criminal uses, and other security issues." Amir Taaki of the Bitcoin Consultancy (who did an interview here a while back) disputes the reasoning and the conclusions in the Wired article.

Re:Criminal uses?

[larry bagina]

Personally, I buy my coke with bitcoins, use a credit card to cut it into lines, then a rolled up $20 to snort it.

Re:Criminal uses?

[Anonymous Coward]

"It's only untraceable if I only brought ATI video cards, web hosting, and marijuana for the rest of my life."

i fail to see the problem

Re:Building a case...

[artor3]

And that's just step one! Next they'll use their bitcoin monopoly to buy fluoride to put in the water supply, corrupting our precious bodily fluids!