Perhaps a vision of technology using peer-to-peer (p2p) encrypted data packets allowing all internet users on Earth to directly store and transfer their digital money, digital purchases, digital sells, inexpensively bypassing the banks and physical tolls and costs of transactions over the internet. Allowing each person direct control, storage, and access over their money very inexpensively.
Has Bitcoin given a hint at this possibility?
Can innovation and engineering create a hybrid of local paper complementary currencies and digital P2P crypto-currencies?*As the People on Earth are increasingly more aware of the untrustworthy institutions with the instability of their national currencies, fraud & corruption, and the looming global financial collapse with the spectre of war, People on Earth are creating alternatives… ~Ron
Crypto-Currencies 2014!
Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss whether or not 2014 will be one of economic and financial fallout from the 2013 Year of Bitcoin and Snowden. They look at Paul Krugman’s claim that Bitcoin is evil because it’s not backed by men with guns and the latest in the financial fallout from Snowden’s NSA revelations in terms of contractual demands that data never enter the US. In the second half, Max interviews Barb Jacobson of basicincome2013.eu about the European Citizens Initiative for Unconditional Basic Income. Max compares it to the basic income provided to bankers through policies like quantitative easing.
100 YEARS OF U.S. DOLLAR DECLINE
Posted Jan 2, 2014 By Reggie Middleton
The Future of (Dumb) Money
[…]
What if money in this digital day and age was smart?
What if money was able to do things besides just sit there and be called money?
Here’s an example…
Historically, and up until now, deferred payment was/is based on enforceability of debts and rule of law. The rule of law, particularly engagement within the legal system is destructively expensive, time consuming and essentially the antithesis of friction free commerce, ex. capitalism. The rule of law is generally not relied upon when debts are unlikely to be collectable. For illegal transactions, or for low or zero trust transactions, gold or diamonds may be preferred as the medium of exchange and in those circumstances there is no recourse in case of counterfeit currency (bogus, bank peddled Mortgage Backed Securities, fake US dollars, etc.) is being used. — and there is rarely any deferral of payment: if there is, it will most likely be stated in dollars – which brings us back to where we started.
What if currency was smart enough to act upon a predetermined set of parameters, even after being released to the payee? What if trust never had to be a factor in negotiation for payment, even in a negative trust environment? What if the highly inefficient legal system could be wholly avoided in the risk/reward calculation of a monetary transaction? Would the existence of this possibility, in essence, demand a 5th definition for money – intelligence and/or malleability? You see, the cryptographic digital currencies are smart as compared to the dumb dollar or euro, or yen or yuan! It is this intelligent ability to control money during a transaction and even post transaction, the ability to instruct money to disburse itself only [with] mutual agreement by all parties present, that appears to elude the prominent MSM economists of today.
Furthermore, dumb money as purely fiat is truly without physical value or utility value as a physical or digital commodity. It derives its value by being declared by a government to be legal tender; that is, it must be accepted as a form of payment within the boundaries of the country, for all debts, public and private – including taxes, where in the US, it is the only currency accepted. Laws in place such as these essentially imbue fiat money with the value of any of the goods and services that it may be traded for within the nation that issues it. The fact remains though, the value of fiat money is held in belief and belief only, enforced by the whims of government. With this being the case, there is no true utility argument to be made for fiat currencies, including the USD.
*CAUTION: Beware of the institution’s desire and plans for a cashless society as a means for total domination and control. Oligarchic and cartel control protected by government as opposed to a free market with transparency and personal sovereignty.
See Related posts below.
Hidden Agendas: Forced to use digital currency? But wait, crypto currencies are good, right?
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Want Worldwide PEACE and Prosperity. We are the solution we have been searching for... Free People on Earth will solve our crisis and create an era of Creativity. Be Aware; Be Creative; Be Active; Be Free; and then Share it. LOVE & Wholeness AMOR y Paz
Ronmamita's Blog 
Reblogged this on Spartan of Truth.
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Bitcoin Versus Gold
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-03/bitcoin-versus-gold
Submitted by John Browne via Euro Pacific Capital,
Ever since President Nixon broke the US dollar’s last link to gold, the world has been set adrift on a sea of fiat currencies that have been increasingly debased, serving the interests of governments and financial elites. For the last five years, central banks have imposed near-zero rates of interest that have helped push up stock, bond, and real estate prices, but have made it nearly impossible for savers to receive meaningful returns on bank deposits.
To make matters worse, the apparatus of national security has turned financial transactions into a massive exercise in government surveillance. Under the camouflage of ‘protective’ measures, such as the USA PATRIOT Act, governments have invaded the privacy of citizens and compromised banking secrecy in an unprecedented and often unconstitutional manner. Despite huge potential transaction-cost reductions achievable through advances in digital technology, banks continue to charge exorbitant transaction fees while maintaining transfer delays that reflect a pre-digital age. In addition, bank regulators, led by the IMF, have shown a willingness, in the case of Cyprus, to make depositors liable for poor banking decisions. Many private citizens may naturally see the status quo as a deliberate policy to crush middle-class savers and pave the way for centralized socialism. Some have sought a way out.
Gold 2.0?
Traditionally, investors have turned to precious metals such as gold to help protect and privately transfer their wealth. However, ever-increasing regulation, monitoring, and physical searches have eroded some of the key protections afforded by gold. Gold’s weakness over the past 24 months has also spooked many former adherents. In such an environment, many have seen the recent arrival of digital crypto-currencies as the means to restore the monetary independence that has been co-opted by big governments. Currencies like the now-famous Bitcoin offer the potential for a store of value, low transaction costs, free movement, and anonymity. It’s no wonder that Bitcoin has taken the world by storm. But all that glitters is not gold.
Wikipedia defines a crypto-currency as, “a peer-to-peer, decentralized, digital currency [or medium of exchange] whose implementation relies on the principles of cryptology to validate the transaction and the generation of the currency itself.” In short, it is a virtual currency traded by private, unregulated internet exchanges. Despite the recent fame of Bitcoin, there are actually a number of other crypto-currencies that have been created in recent years. Names include Litecoin, Peercoin, Namecoin, and Primecoin. Bitcoin, established in 2009, is undoubtedly the most successful, and it became a breakout news story in 2013.
Bitcoin Pros & Cons
Bitcoin offers a few distinct advantages over conventional currencies: it allows almost instantaneous peer-to-peer transactions that completely avoid the expensive and cumbersome bank-run electronic payment systems, and it allows for fast international movement of funds outside foreign exchange controls.
Many investors are also betting that Bitcoin will offer a better store of value over time than serially printed fiat currencies. That’s because the Bitcoin protocol automatically, and apparently irrevocably, limits the number of bitcoins that will be created to 21 million. In this sense, they are immeasurably more honest than US dollars. However, unlike US dollars, pounds sterling, or euros, bitcoins do not carry legal tender status, but rather rely on the network of merchants and individuals to continue to accept them as payment for goods and services.
Finally, by utilizing anonymous wallets, some users may think that crypto-currencies like Bitcoin offer increased financial privacy. I believe that this is largely an illusion. Governments have shown a great ability to crack any code no matter how well planned (just look at the British government’s success against the Germans in the Second World War). I have full faith that the US Federal government can, over time, develop techniques to map all cyber transactions.
A Volatile Elephant in the Room
But it is Bitcoin’s volatility that will likely be its immediate undoing. In recent months, as more speculators have moved into the market, prices have been unstable to say the least. On November 29th, Bitcoin reached $1,242 in Tokyo just as gold dipped to $1,240 an ounce. When those two values crossed, many began to speculate that Bitcoin had replaced gold as the premier alternative to fiat money. With relatively high transaction costs and delivery delays, precious metals are expensive to store and transport. In contrast, Bitcoin transactions are fast, cheap, and transnational. But little, if any, store of value is offered. That reality has been demonstrated in recent weeks as Bitcoin has dropped by some 50 percent in market value.
While crypto-currencies remain insulated from central bank manipulation, governments have thus far been tolerant, perhaps because their capability to track transactions is more advanced than Bitcoin believers admit.
Nevertheless, the advent of crypto-currencies represents the increasing popular demand for a currency insulated from political debasement and bank profiteering. Crypto-currencies represent a legitimate attempt by private citizens to reassert their sovereignty over such government actions. I appreciate the effort, and I believe it holds much promise. But for now, I will stay with the traditional store of value, gold.
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Malaysia’s Central Bank Warns of Bitcoin Risks
Stops Short of Banning the Virtual Currency
By Shie-Lynn Lim
Jan. 3, 2014 12:14 p.m. ET
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Joining a number of regulators world-wide, Malaysia’s central bank voiced concern about bitcoin on Friday but stopped short of banning the virtual currency.
“The Bitcoin is not recognized as legal tender in Malaysia,” Bank Negara Malaysia said in an announcement. “The public is therefore advised to be cautious of the risks associated with the usage of such digital currency.”
Read more: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/
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James Turk: “The Money Bubble”
Max interviews precious metals expert, James Turk, about his new book, “The Money Bubble,” and about the dollar, gold and Bitcoin.
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