Money from unexpected places [ABA Banking Journal]
Review of the SWIFT Operations Forum occurring in April, I believe it was.
Some developments mentioned at the event:
- Online gamers buy fantasy weapons with virtual currency then sell them for dollars (Bitcoin users via eBay);
- Another virtual currency, the Ven, now trades on Thomson Reuters;
[...]
Recently, he bought drinks in a Toronto bar with the Ven, a currency originally created for internet micropayments that exists only as a symbol on his cell phone.
[...]
A common hypothesis remained: networked information is (almost) the ultimate value. The common question: How do you bring elements outside of the system into the (automated) information loop? Those elements are both cash/competing currencies and paper.
[...]
However, Schlegel, in her session, warned banks to heed the “mistrust of large corporations” evident in Occupy Wall Street protests and, as yet, emergent currencies. Her research shows small businesses willing to trust their social networks over banks. “There’s a huge shift in values.
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http://www.ababj.com/briefing/money-from-unexpected-places-2959.html
