The Bitcoin system has the great virtue of securely sending value directly from stranger to stranger. It is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. The sender does not need to trust the recipient, nor any bank or other institution, to accurately record the transfer. The Bitcoin…
I fully expected Larry White's recent post challenging the state theory of money, and particularly that theory's understanding of the origins of metallic coinage, to generate some critical feedback. In particular, I expected it to raise the hackles of "Lord Keynes" (henceforth LK), the otherwise anonymous author…
A well-known obstacle to the greater popularity of Bitcoin as a medium of payment is the high volatility of its exchange value. This volatility results from its built-in quantity commitment: because the number of Bitcoins in existence stays on a programmed path, variations in the real demand…
(In light of a recent article in The Economist bearing out its main arguments, we thought it appropriate to devote this week's Friday FLASHBACK to this July 2011 post -Ed.) How’s this for a great idea: we build a small fleet of cars, and market them to people…
Financial innovations like mobile money have gained fame for transforming commerce in the developing world. But they’re also helping the poor escape poverty. In an earlier post, I showed how over the past few years M-PESA and other kinds of “mobile money” have made sending money across…