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March 23, 2013, 02:01:02 AM |
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This is a from a subscriber investment newsletter. Nothing new, but I like the last line. I also didn't remember the quote from the ECB report.
In Europe's crisis-ridden PIIGS countries, Bitcoin is no longer a fringe idea. And who can blame people after the cash grab in Cyprus this week?
Folks in Spain have been busy downloading three Bitcoin-related iPhone apps. One of them, "Bitcoin Ticker" jumped up in the ranks of the Spanish app marketplace from No. 526 to No. 52 in just 24 hours. Two similar apps "Bitcoin Gold " and "Bitcoin App" are also leaping up the charts.
Right now, holding Bitcoin seems less risky in light of Europe's political environment... not to mention a 1,360% appreciation over the past year and 55% just in the past five days alone.
Still, it isn't just the refuge of scared Europeans who don't want their deposits taken -- it's on the central bankers' radar too. The ECB published a report back in October 2012 on what it called "Virtual Currency Schemes."
The report says growing demand for something like Bitcoin "could have a negative impact on the reputation of central banks" because the public will interpret that demand as the central bank not doing its job properly.
Bring it on!
Meanwhile, a Canadian homeowner is selling his property for Bitcoin.
Taylor More self-listed his Alberta bungalow online on Monday as "Bitcoin Home!" After detailing the home's spacious 2.9 acres, beautiful scenery, the amenities, and 2,800-square-foot workshop came the Bitcoin part: "If you had $405k I wouldn't turn you down," he posted.
Sweet property for the winter-minded... Frontage on the Crowsnest River, the listing says
As we write this, Bitcoin is trading for a little less than $75... so it would take you roughly 5,400 Bitcoins to buy the home. Though he qualified it: "if a partial or whole transaction is done using Bitcoins the price can be reduced depending on how many Bitcoins you have to trade."
That's a far cry from what Bitcoin bought just three years ago when it took 10,000 to buy a pizza.
Brings to mind the time-honored definition of money --a medium of exchange, unit of account and store of value. Bitcoin is rapidly taking on all three.
Take that, central bankers!
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