As the European banking and currency crisis unfolds, the emerging digital currency has rapidly become a refuge for people fleeing from the euro and seeking to protect their savings and assets from confiscation.
In Cyprus, where thousands of businessmen have seen nearly all of their operating capital siphoned from their accounts, Bitcoin ATMs have suddenly appeared. Investors and businessmen in Spain and other countries that may soon fall prey to the "Cyprus Model" are likewise fleeing to the bitcoin.
Some analysts believe that Bitcoin, which allows for unmediated fund transfers between individuals, poses a potentially lethal threat to conventional banking. It is certainly exposing the weakness of the world's incumbent reserve currency, the US dollar.
As of April 2, it took 115 U.S. dollars to purchase a single Bitcoin. Is this a speculative bubble? After all, Bitcoin is a virtual currency without precedent in human history.
Does Bitcoin offer promise, or peril? We'll examine this issue with economic analyst Jeffrey Tucker. Mr. Tucker is the head of Lassiez-Faire Books. He is the author of "It's a Jetson's World: Private Miracles and Public Crimes" and "A Beautiful Anarchy: How to Create Your Own Civilization in the Digital Age."
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