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In the Balance: Bitcoin: Has its Time Come?

23/11/2013

Bitcoin: Has its Time Come?

BBC World Service - In the Balance, Bitcoin: Has its Time Come?

Digital dealings: What are virtual currencies and what are they for?

How can the giant stone currency of the island of Yap help us understand bitcoin and the world of virtual currencies? Justin Rowlatt and guests discuss what they've got to offer.

How can the large stone currency called Rai stones, from the island of Yap in Micronesia help us understand "bitcoin" and the world of virtual currencies? As US senators this week discussed the merits, and dangers, of these so-called crypto currencies, Justin Rowlatt and his guests delve into the opaque world of digital dealings and ask what on earth is a virtual currency, and what's the point of bitcoin when there are so many conventional currencies on offer? 

 And the programme's resident chief ruminator, Colm O'Regan, on why he's failed, so far, to grasp the freedom from the rules that bitcoin represents.

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