On 11/06/11 17:55, Eugen Leitl wrote:
----- Forwarded message from Steven Bellovin <smb@cs.columbia.edu> -----
From: Steven Bellovin <smb@cs.columbia.edu> Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2011 10:49:49 -0400 To: Crypto discussion list <cryptography@randombit.net> Cc: cryptography@metzdowd.com Subject: Re: [cryptography] Digital cash in the news... X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.1084) Reply-To: Crypto discussion list <cryptography@randombit.net>
On Jun 10, 2011, at 10:16 55PM, John Levine wrote:
In article <021CCBA9-9203-4896-8412-481B94595B20@cs.columbia.edu> you write:
http://gcn.com/articles/2011/06/09/bitcoins-digital-currency-silk-road-charl...
I wouldn't call bitcoins digital cash. They're more like digital tulip bulbs, or bearer shares of theglobe.com.
Whatever they are, it's a self limiting problem since the bubble will burst soon enough.
My point in posting the item to this list was not to discuss whether or not bitcoins are real digital cash, but to note that the technology has now been publicly mentioned at the policy level.
But is it cash? When my son was four years old, he asked me why a dollar bill was worth a dollar. He didn't like my answer, even though it was absolutely correct: "because we all agree that it is". If you can buy things with it, it's money, unless it has some intrinsic utility of its own; if it does have intrinsic value, it's a barter transaction. Calling it "digital tulip bulbs" is a way of saying that bitcoins are not a very stable currency; with that I have no quarrel. (Don't get me started on the gold standard (I shouldn't even add this note). But I do suggest
Oh, lets get you started. Go on, you already have:
you read the (very brief) description in Steinberg's new biography "Bismarck: A Life" of the economic woes the gold standard caused in late 19th century Prussia and the other states of the Reich .)
I see. My question, Steve, is how does "1 dollar" come into existence? Lets make that three questions. How does 1 dollar in your bank account get there and how does a 1 dollar Federal Reserve Note come into existence. Are they one and the same? Anything else you wish to add regarding a gold standard, I'm all ears. Best, Ray -- Rayservers http://www.rayservers.com/ Zurich: +41 43 5000 728 London: +44 20 30 02 74 72 Panama: +507 832 1846 San Francisco: +1 408 419 1978 USA Toll Free: +1 888 265 5009 10:00 - 24:00 GMT We prefer to be paid in gold Globals and silver Isles Global Standard - Global Settlement Foundation http://www.global-settlement.org/ Our PGP key 0x079CCE10 on http://keyserver.rayservers.com/