Bitcoin is an experimental new digital currency that enables instant payments to anyone, anywhere in the world. Bitcoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority: managing transactions and issuing money are carried out collectively by the network. Bitcoin is also the name of the open source software which enables the use of this currency.

'The second question is whether consumers will use just one electronic wallet on their phones, choosing between, say, Google, PayPal and their own bank, or whether they will have several. Most analysts think that consumers will gravitate towards a single electronic wallet which will hold many cards. This is because there may be significant benefits to be gained from aggregating transactions and the data associated with them. For example, PayPal’s wallet will allow consumers to use various stores of value besides money when paying for goods or services. These could include coupons, loyalty points from stores and banks and air miles from airlines. PayPal stands to profit from steering customers into shops, perhaps by reminding them that they have unused coupons. It could also tell shopkeepers about the tastes of their customers, allowing retailers to make targeted shopping offers (“this would look great with the black skirt you bought last week”) or extend credit on the fly. -- Google, too, is hoping to do far more with its wallet than process payments, which it sees as akin to queries typed into its search engine. In the same way that it sells advertisements that are precisely targeted to a user’s search, it hopes to be able to deliver offers matched to people’s spending patterns.'

SEXY LAB TECH?

LOVE THE ICEBREAKER

AH THERE ARE THE TITS, NEED ENHANCEMENT

QUEEN ISN'T TOPLESS

WHERE ARE THE TITS?

WHERE ARE THE TITS?

"thought some of the Grecian statues it features -- namely a group of nude women representing truth, faith, justice, charity, knowledge and peace -- are "too pornographic."" ... I'LL BE THE JUDGE OF THAT

'What social benefit does humanity derive from gold bricks sitting in bank vaults? What social benefit does humanity derive by diverting tremendous amounts of resources into the mining of gold, just so that after the gold is mined it can sit in bank vaults, completely unappreciated for its aesthetic beauty. Those same resources could have been used to mine iron and make steel for the production of consumer goods. The argument might be made that humanity needs money to trade with, so therefore the social benefit is derived from the existence of a money. However, I would argue that is not true. Humanity needs a money that cannot be arbitrarily inflated and is created through the free enterprise system, but this does NOT necessitate that the money be backed by anything in particular. ...we can say that a “socially optimal” money should have the following characteristics, in addition to those already laid out by the Austrian School: #A socially optimal money should not precipitate the mass diversion of physical resources into the production of money. #A socially optimal money should be infinitely divisible to deal with deflation over the long term. #A socially optimal money is one in which the units of account are prevented from being inflated or co-opted by the state. Gold does not meet any of those characteristics. As we have seen from our past history, the state can easily co-opt a gold money supply and inflate the units of account. -- Bitcoin addresses all of gold’s shortcomings. Bitcoin is clearly a more “socially optimal” form of money than gold. Further, since Bitcoin is entirely digital, it can be transmitted across a wire transaction, thereby eliminating the need for expensive insurance and shipping costs. These costs needed to be accounted for under free banking, where banks would accept notes issued by other banks at a discount to cover the cost of transporting the gold between banks. With Bitcoin, this is not an issue. In fact, since Bitcoin is a global network, it would retain its full value between banks on differing continents! While I appreciate the gold standard and Herbener’s address to Congress, I think it is time we stop advocating for Roman era money and start advocating for a 21st century upgrade.'