LA Times: Cashing in on the Bitcoin Boom

I first heard of Bitcoin in San Fran from my friend Neelroop. It was a couple of years ago, and I remember at the time thinking the concept of an purely electronic currency was cool but the details seemed kind of complicated and I didn't follow entirely. So I was surprised to see Bitcoin in the news recently, as I had thought of it as a niche, west coast start up thing.

After reading the LA Times article I'm reminded again of how fascinating I find it that this currency has no physical commodity or country tied to it. It's not even physical; it's completely digital. It's almost like someone took one of those gaming currencies (which I learned one day when a friend showed me what WOW was) and introduced it into the global economy. Someone once told me that money only has real value because we believe in it, which kind of sounds like what parents tell their children about Santa Claus. Anyway, what is money but something used to mediate the exchange of resources between two parties. Back in the bartering days, only equivalent objects could be exchanged but now anyone can trade around anything they want with the help of money. There is something very psychological about seeing cash and assigning it a value, but I suppose the reality is that there really doesn't need to be anything physical about money as long as we all believe that 1) it's valuable 2) that the other person has it and is really going to give it to you.

More people need to believe in Bitcoin before it can be valued as global currency, but is it something worth believing in? After all it was developed by someone who uses a pseudonym and the process of creating more Bitcoins sounds like something out of The Matrix. Apparently Bitcoins are produced through a process called mining, which involves people using computers that perform complex mathematical calculations to solve puzzles that guard the Bitcoin mint like the sphinxes of ancient Egypt. There's different levels of puzzles that become increasingly harder - like a video game... This is my incomplete understanding and surely production is also influenced by supply and demand somehow and not just on hacker-like prowess, but it's all a little beyond me.

In theory Bitcoin would be good for global business as it would eliminate the need for currency exchanges; it would be exempt from many governmental regulations because it's not controlled by any government. But I think not having it linked with a physical object would prevent it from being used widely by average people because not everybody has a computer or a means to scan qr codes. Also some people are very skeptical of things they can't see, such as those who prefer to keep their cash under mattresses and such.

So Bitcoin has been newsworthy lately because of its volatile stock and the speculation surrounding its future. I think it could work on the global scale, not so sure about the local one. I don't understand how Bitcoin is made/stored/secured, but I think that's because I'm not a computer person or economist. It'll be interesting to see where this concept heads.

Cashing in on the Bitcoin boom
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Being from the South, I was taught that snow is an evil, evil force that will overcome you and your car...every time. So with my car covered in ice for the past 4 days, I just stayed at home and prayed (j/k, watched a lot of TV). But today I was getting really sick of being stuck inside, and so I went out to face my fears. Of course I don't have an ice scraper, but I did have a starbucks card and my school's library card. The starbucks card was such a flimsy piece of plastic that it broke in half after just a few little scrapes. My library card though, with the help of a warmed car and some cold water, scraped a 2 inch blanket of ice off my front and rear window. I was so impressed!! And the card isn't even bent; I could probably still use it. I love finding quality in unexpected places. Thank you to whoever decided to go with the expensive cards!

Two other things I love on snow days: Alone by Heart and I hung my head by Johnny Cash. Sorry for the nonsequitur, but I've been listening to these songs in addition to my TV watching during my self-imposed imprisonment (I guess they're pretty fitting titles too, haha!). Ann Wilson has to be one of my favorite singers of all time; I love her powerful, soulful, and totally kickass voice in this song. I < 3 Ann.
And the Johnny Cash song just has the craziest lyrics ever. Only Cash can pull off a song like that in his heavily sincere and sad bass-baritone.

Alone by Heart  (Check out 2:05)

I hung my head by Johnny Cash