Ah Bitcoins: In addition to being a disastrous idea, experiencing recent crashes and fraud, the EFF has now decided that they “…don’t fully understand the complex legal issues involved with creating a new currency system.” and didn’t want to be construed as endorsing the system. In other news, despite assurances to the contrary, I wouldn’t…
Most of the comments on this Slashdot article about fraud and crashes with Bitcoin are insightful. Some are funny too. Most telling for me is that one of the primary Bitcoin exchanges Mt Gox started life as “Magic The Gathering Online Exchange” – an exchange to trade collectable cards for a fantasy game. Should I…
The USD value of bitcoins decreased by 30% in one day on Friday. This isn’t the only problem with bitcoins, but it is a natural result of not having a central bank / government behind the currency saying “we are committing to this currency and requiring it to be accepted as legal tender”. There are…
Prediction: Â Bitcoins will be irrelevant by 2013 and will never emerge from a very small niche market. In fact, they are already irrelevant today. This is what happens when open source supporters, crypto experts and privacy nuts think an understanding of C++ and maths equates to knowledge of economics and monetary systems. Oh, and add…
Commodity prices rise and the world screams hyperinflation. Elsewhere, alternative investment managers espouse the virtues of commodities as an asset class that generates “alpha” returns (i.e. returns not related to the overall direction of markets). The thing is, it’s hard to have it both ways. Â The link between unexpected/expected inflation and equity prices in the…
I heard someone talking on Classic Business tonight. Pity I didn’t catch his name so I can avoid his advice in future. He was saying that he doesn’t see the point in investing in debt instruments. Â He explained that the return is low and the risk high since if the company gets into trouble, you’ll…
I hope Make A Million’s systems are playing up. Â Otherwise some players are losing more money than I ever expected.
