Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Are Bitcoins Safer Than Cyprus?




From Forbes: “….Bitcoins are a peer-to-peer currency named after the file-sharing technology, Bittorrent. Rather than banks and governments issuing Bitcoins, a network of Bitcoin holders’ computers does the heavy lifting.  Touted as untraceable, Bitcoins are heaven on earth for libertarians and others who dream of a global economy outside the control of governments. .

"And since crisis erupted in Cyprus, the value of Bitcoins have soared. And why not? The crisis in Cyprus led to a spike in fear about the risk in government-run currencies. As the New York Times reports, the genesis of that fear was Cyprus’s policy of accepting few-questions-asked cash and charging companies an ultra-low 10% tax.

"Cash flooded Cyprus from around Europe — a third came from Russian oligarchs. And those deposits turned into loans. According to the Times, a bank would give a a £20,000 loan and a £5,000 credit card to a depositor with a monthly salary of £400. Much of this money went into real estate that soared in price…"

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