http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25617931
Bitcoin Crosses $1,000 on Zynga Move
Impressive. There is no denying that since the conception of the Bitcoin, its value has followed a not so steady upward trend. The road to this value has been rocky, especially after last year's crash from over $1,200. The result of the crash came from China, who implemented tactics and spoke out against the Bitcoin due to its lack of centralization. The response from the Chinese government wasn't a surprise. The European Banking Authority issued a statement regarding the safety and security of the Bitcoin. They basically said that if the Bitcoin holder loses a huge sum or any sum of money, it is entirely the fault of the holder because Bitcoin clearly isn't stable. These statements do have merit due to the anonymous and decentralized nature of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is not regulated, so there is plenty of criticism of the currency, but there is no disputing the fact that it is becoming an adopted form of transaction among businesses. Zynga recently decided that it would accept the Bitcoin as a form of payment. Zynga is an online social media gaming website that releases games on sites such as Facebook. With the news of the Zynga acceptance, the value of the Bitcoin climbed its way over the $1,000 mark. I think that companies adopting the Bitcoin are definitely acting as progressives. They're supporting the technology and the innovativeness of the Bitcoin, but I'm not sure how many of them are actually going to stick to it fully. I have a feeling that many companies will just accept Bitcoin as a marketing strategy and to reach a wider audience, but I believe many of them will just exchange them for money. Reading about the Bitcoin, I was unsure of where it would fall into our country's GDP. It can be treated as an investment. If you were to buy a Bitcoin when it was valued at $100 and then sold it today at $1000 you would've made a hefty profit. Is Bitcoin considered investment spending? Or is it considered consumer spending? It may not have much of an impact considering its only a 5 billion dollar market, but you never know how much bearing it will have someday.
- David Gerhart
I think that you bring up a really good point as to where it falls in the GDP but my question lies in who's GDP it belongs in. Since there is no true "creator" of the bitcoin, and no country really makes bitcoins for import or export I don't think it would be in the GDP at all. Plus it remind me of a home-made product in that I would mine the bitcoin for my personal use and so it wouldn't count towards the country's GDP. I do think that the bitcoin will one day be an accepted currency and that it is rapidly moving towards that mark. If it wasn't I wouldn't think that we would be learning about it in school as much as we are.
ReplyDeleteBen brings up a good point here. It is difficult to determine where, if at all, Bitcoin would lie within a country's GDP. And maybe you're right, that it can be included in the investment portion of GDP because of the dramatic fluctuation of it. From what I understand of Bitcoin, it almost seems similar to a stock; you receive or mine it at a particular price, but as the price increases or decreases, you are able to spend it accordingly for it's current, respective value.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lindsay that Bitcoin is similar to a stock. I hope that more companies will accept Bitcoin because I think it is a great form of currency. Possibly risky in terms of value, but great if you have to trade with people who use different currencies then you.
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