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This section was produced by the editorial department. The client was not given the opportunity to put restrictions on the content or review it prior to publication. December 20, 6: Last Updated December 21, 9: Is Bitcoin a fraud or a breakthrough technology? Is it a valid, though untested, digital currency of exchange? Is it a promising alternative to so-called fiat currencies the ones backed by governments? Can it fundamentally alter the way economies work? And the big question: I have no idea.
On the other questions, too, I admit befuddlement. And I envy the ingenuity of the developers, like the mysterious individual or individuals known as Satoshi Nakamoto, who designed Bitcoin and apparently have a lot of it. This is not to inform, obviously, but rather an attempt to inspire fellow feeling, because I imagine many people who watch markets and think about economics are similarly confused.
The value is what the market says it is. But I do wonder: What is Bitcoin for? There might be value in a digital currency of exchange, but last time I checked, my debit card was doing a pretty serviceable job of letting me buy things without handing over some combination of paper and nickel.
At Starbucks, youngsters wave their phones in front of a doohickey or thingamabob in exchange for coffee, and I hear from friends that everybody in China and India buys everything with their phones, too — kind of like a plastic card, but easier to break. About the only proven benefit so far seems to be in moving money under the radar of regulators.
And while you can apparently buy actual goods and services with Bitcoin, the level of transactions done with it is vanishingly thin. Maybe it will be, someday. The exchanges also seem unusually subject to hacking: As an alternative, many buyers and sellers — who knows how many?
That cuts out the middleman, but…. A buddy of mine remembered recently that somebody paid him in Bitcoin a few years ago —. First he had to look around and find his PIN code, which took a while, and then he went online, found a peer-to-peer site, negotiated with potential buyers and eventually came to an agreement with one.
So it was back to the drawing board for my friend, who eventually made the sale online and got paid, via email transfer. So, as it stands, the Bitcoin market is neither reliable nor efficient. Of course, Bitcoin could keep going up forever. So one last question: Why is it different this time?
That cuts out the middleman, but… A buddy of mine remembered recently that somebody paid him in Bitcoin a few years ago —. Those controversial tax changes? Bank of Canada could raise this rate as early as Wednesday, making it more difficult for some to take on home loans.
The emerging markets are suddenly looking very fragile, with one country after another tumbling into a crisis. Find Financial Post on Facebook.