Some more infor on Bitcoin today AFR18 Mar 2014Financial...

Some more infor on Bitcoin today AFR

18 Mar 2014

Financial exchange The cryptocurrency fails to fulfil the three main functions of money
Avoid being short-changed on Bitcoin
Bitcoin, to its most ardent fans, is more
than a useful way to pay for drugs.
It is also a technological marvel that
could disrupt much of the consumer
finance industry. But is it money?
The Bitcoin economy keeps growing,
despite the periodic disappearance
of large quantities of currency in hacker
heists. The total value of bitcoins in
circulation has risen to $US7.9 billion
($8.7 billion), from just $US490 million
a year ago, while daily transaction
volume is up almost 60 per cent. If
Bitcoin aspires to match dollars and
euros for money-ness, it will need to be
more than just a MasterCard for nerds.
Economists reckon money is anything
that serves three main functions.
It must be a "medium of exchange",
which can reliably be swapped for
goods and services. It should be a stable
store of value, enabling users to tuck
some away and come back later to find
its purchasing power more or less
intact. And it should function as a unit
of account: a statistical yardstick
against which value in an economy is
measured. The US dollar meets all three
conditions. Bitcoin has some way to go.
Bitcoin does best as a medium of
exchange, thanks to its clever technical
design.
.............. not the full article.

Total value in circulation US$7b!!
Volume of transaction goes up 60% each day!!