Good article, had to school some people in the comments. Reposted for your convenience:
(To another commenter that claimed bitcoin would always need other sovereign currencies, market volatility is too much, etc..)That's a pretty bold claim - that bitcoin will "always" be dependent on edge-exchanges to transfer to other currencies. Certainly, there will be multiple world currencies and bitcoin will have its own domain, but it isn't dependent on sovereign currencies in any form. Bitcoins have inherent value, being carved from cryptographic granite, as it were.
Volatility in the exchange rate markets have reduced over time, which is quite evident when you graph its progress versus the US Dollar. I'm not sure why you feel pressed to say markets fluctuate, as that is the case with conventional financial vehicles.
Also, the whole "deflation" fear is another myth that needs to be put to rest. Bitcoin is divisible to a quite small number of individual units per bitcoin, known as a "Satoshi" in honor of the creator. This assures plenty of flexibility, without going down the same disasterous path other world currencies have -- namely, debt issuance and debasement.
I'm very pleased with bitcoin, first for the freedom it affords and the shelter it provides from whimsical monetary policy decisions and political chicanery of all forms. I'll take rational mathematics over paid-for policy any day of the week, and it seems most of the internet agrees with me as well.
It is refreshing to see rational articles being written about bitcoin. It touches on some of the more controversial aspects without succumbing to the paranoia that usually follows such references.
