Bitcoin Forum

Question: Finally, what do you think of Bitcoin as a gold guy? Is it a potential risk as an alternative to gold?

Answer:  It is a fascinating topic.  Any currency exists only because at least two parties (a buyer and a seller) agree that it represents value.  So, what constitutes money?   On a South Pacific island, we might agree that chicken bones are a currency.  In prison, we might agree that cigarettes are a currency.  Today, while we all use fiat or paper currencies as money, a medium of exchange, there is a growing concern about the value of these pieces of paper.

I don’t see why Bitcoin can’t also grow and become another viable currency, an internet based currency.  If enough people accept it, it will be used.  It seems to have momentum behind it and it’s intriguing how it’s truly separate from any country or central banks’ manipulation and control.

There will be growing pains, like the guy who lost money out of his electronic wallet because he left his computer on all night.  Also, Bitcoin will spawn competitors, alternative digital currencies. I think it’s a mistake to write off this currency as a bubble or fad.

Will it threaten gold? I don’t think so. I think the two will grow in tandem as alternative currencies to fiat currencies.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2013/08/20/rob-mcewen-interview-on-gold-prices-gold-miners-and-bitcoin/