Bitcoin gift cards?
I don't know know enough to know, though what would actually be gained in comparison to an existing mainstream credit card (Visa, Am-Ex, Mastercard) and a Square or other device for point-to-point or horizontal transfers? Seemingly, not going through a central system to exchange money. And would the state itself implement such a system in terms of a US electronic currency model, or allow an alternative currency to exist within a context of taxation that could exist outside centralized banking as mediators. It seems the issues of routing and sustaining money inside/outside the banking system involves all the connected issues of financing, loans, predatory monetary practices that benefit some more than others, and thus the existing institutionalization of standardized or legitimate money then is effected by these forces, which if electronic currency could stay outside of then perhaps would function differently, autonomously in regards to these controlling if not exploitative forces, in certain parameters. What is gained by Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency if outside the banking system: supposedly privacy and autonomy, perhaps a security gain in certain factors and a loss of security (guarantees) in others. If Bitcoin were an electronic currency model enacted by the State, how would that differ from existing USD in electronic form, except to provide a monetary system operating outside the global banking infrastructure. This is why it appears to have more in common with existing welfare payment systems (EBT cards) than the existing credit/debit cards, because those can be parallel systems, both cash payments that allow access to money and also food support, where the money is only virtual or electronic (dollar sign) that can be used at a cash register in exchange for food, yet seemingly is like a stored value or exists in a private account in a state system of food support accounting. It is to bring up the issue of parameters or zones where cards may or may not function, and in different terms, such as prepaid, and how this may be a particular realm where alternative currencies could exist, or if implemented by government, could be operational yet outside the banking system altogether (via same principle, disconnected from money system, more like barter, in that what if Bitcoin was not tied to USD and instead food or services.) Others know lots about these things, though a larger framework may help consider the options or dynamics involved especially as there is not a default single approach for any of the issues though 'cryptocurrency' seems to imply a replacement for an existing monetary system or to become the standard e-currency, and if that is the premise, how would this relate to the US government using such a system, inside or outside the operational context of the Federal Reserve, or in various capacities, or globally. Or is it just against all this. (My guess is that Bitcoin is on the inside of these dynamics and is thoroughly embedded in all of these scenarios, part of a strategic planning and development experiment, and I would not underestimate the role of economists to be on the side of humanity in these issues, nor the government, nor many in banking and finance, despite the existing gaming of systems. Perhaps it all is leading towards resolving this electronic currency question in terms of equity, security, privacy, and grounding of information as a currency model.)