[2014-11-27] CD: Citi Chief Economist: Bitcoin is Closest Commodity to Gold

[LiteCoinGuy]

Citi Chief Economist: Bitcoin is Closest Commodity to Gold

Gold is a commodity like bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Citi's chief economist argues in a research note published yesterday, ahead of a Swiss vote that could cause the global gold price to spike.

http://www.coindesk.com/citi-chief-economist-bitcoin-closest-commodity-gold/

[vipgelsi]

Gold and bitcoins gotta love them.

[bitbouillion]

http://willembuiter.com/gold2.pdf

"bitcoin, a fiat virtual currency."

What world is Bruiter living in?

[bitbouillion]

Bitcoin too is costly to produce (to ‘mine’, using high-powered servers that could be doing other, more useful things instead, using energy both to keep the servers running and to cool them).

The algorithm governing Bitcoin is supposed to set an absolute upper limit 21 million bitcoin units, although anything that can be programmed can be reprogrammed.

Counterfeiting (gold painted lead ingots) are of course a risk (as it is with paper currency and, for all we know, with Bitcoin).

Bitcoin is not anonymous, because every unit of Bitcoin is held in an electronic ‘wallet’, which has a clear and, in principle, identifiable owner.

It is possible to hide (through encryption) the identity of the current beneficial owner of a Bitcoin wallet, just as it is possible to hide the identity of the beneficial owner of a bank account behind an array of corporate, trust or personal fronts.

willembuiter.com/gold2.pdf

Willem Buiter
+1-212-816-2363
willem.buiter@citi.com



Anyone to comment on this?

[goxed]

In another news :Dutch move 122 tons of gold out of US http://www.cnbc.com/id/102206925#.   In the future, it might be "Dutch move pvt-keys to 122,000 bitcoins out of US using two brain wallets "

[bitbouillion]

Buiter becomes Senior Fellow of the CFR.
http://www.cfr.org/experts/world/willem-h-buiter/b19087