The Chinese have found a new investment that sidesteps the scrutiny of the country's authorities. And for now, it's paying off big.
Bitcoins, a virtual currency invented in 2009, is attracting investment-hungry Chinese who often struggle to find good assets that generate high returns.

As I said back in April, the great thing about Bitcoin is not necessarily this particular crypto-currency itself – it’s the way in which Bitcoin is stimulating and developing the virtual currency space as a whole, with the wider benefit being the disruption of the traditional financial system.

Banks levy usurious fees on international money transfers, and virtual currencies make it possible to severely undercut them. The card companies hold back the development of much-needed micropayments ecosystems, and perhaps virtual currencies can work their magic there too. This is why, hype and speculation aside, Bitcoin really does matter.

Bitcoin -- the world's most hyped cryptocurrency -- isn't just for buying pizza and drugs: essentially programmable money, the system can be built on to create new financial applications. "Bitcoin as a platform for innovation is what excites me most," says Gavin Andresen

Every Bitcoin transaction includes a script -- rules that define how it may be spent. This can be basic, but more elaborate scripts are possible, according to Jeff Garzik, senior software engineer at BitPay.  "Escrow has a script that requires signatures from two of the three people involved in a transaction. Or there may be a password kept in one person's memory -- a brainwallet."

The ruling left those who follow the news wondering: can the bank make laws?
Actually, the answer is yes and no. Bitcoin exchange services in Thailand weren’t actually declared “illegal” per se, but Bitcoin Co. Ltd., the company this news originally came from, has been operating in Thailand without a license, which is illegal.
Any type of currency enchange service in Thailand needs to get a license from the Bank of Thailand, according to the Exchange Control Regulations in Thailand whether it’s “real” money or not. That’s why Bitcoin Co. Ltd. needed to be authorised to operate, and since it didn’t have that authorization, it was forced to shut down.

There are no iOS bitcoin wallet apps and Apple did not respond to e-mails seeking an explanation.

The winner of this week’s King Canute prize for attempting to hold back the tide goes to the government of Thailand. Why? They have just decided to ban Bitcoin, the new digital currency.
Bitcoin – which exists only as a string of computer source code, and in so far as people are willing to exchange ownership of it for other things – cannot lawfully be used to buy and sell in Thailand.
Monetary authorities in Bangkok fear that this upstart currency cannot be subject to capital controls. And they are right. It can't. But banning Bitcoin won't end a very 21st-century conundrum for governments everywhere.
A digital tide is coming in, and it will sweep away the post-Bretton Woods system of monopoly money. No government, in Thailand, or elsewhere, will ultimately be able to stop it.

A person familiar with the proposed Bitcoin ETF, which still needs to be approved by the US securities watchdog, says the fund has yet to recruit authorised participants, or APs. A spokeswoman for the Winklevoss twins, Tyler and Cameron, declined to comment on the matter.
Authorised participants are essential to building the funds since they create and redeem the ETF shares, usually in exchange for baskets of the underlying securities, from the ETF sponsor.

“I don’t think we’re ever going to have a situation where everyone just decides we don’t want to make money,” says one AP who declined to be named. When it comes to the Bitcoin ETF, however, that moneymaking opportunity for Wall Street banks and trading firms is harder to find.

Maybe we should stick to the more accepted and widely popular "McDonald Big Mac Index?"