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Bitcoin lets users send money nearly instantaneously, at almost no cost, and (if desired) anonymously. Getting funds in and out of the system is the hard part. That may soon change.
August 24 -
Leaving no coin, metal, or commodity unturned, retiring Rep. Ron Paul made a final push on one of his signature issues on Thursday, seeking stronger ground for the U.S. to implement a parallel currency in lieu of the U.S. dollar.
August 2 -
You should be able to move your money as fast as you can make it. But the banking system today works about as speedily as the Post Office.
July 24
The Bitcoin community is an endearingly passionate group of people.
After I wrote a
Thank you. Now stop. Please.
My employer pays me to write about banking. It would be wrong for me to accept payments from any third party for work I perform for American Banker – even small, unsolicited donations, even after the fact, even if I have no idea who most of the third parties are. If you want to show support, leave a comment (or
I inadvertently got myself into this pickle. I'd included my 35-character Bitcoin address in the article, simply to illustrate the inscrutable, difficult-to-trace nature of the system's cryptographic identifiers. It didn't occur to me anyone would send me money.
I had underestimated the enthusiasm of Bitcoiners, which rivals that of Deadheads and Trekkies. Many of them were
I call 'em like I see 'em. That's my job. But accepting even the tiniest denomination of coins for doing so would undermine my credibility as a journalist.
So I'm going to try to return the bitcoins I received to the senders, and any coins I can't return I will donate to charity.
And no, I'm not going to say which charity. I prefer to give anonymously. See,
Marc Hochstein is the executive editor of American Banker. The views expressed are his own.