Everyone’s talking about BTCs, so I should probably throw in my two cents.
What is the purpose of an alternative currency?
Let me answer that by analogy. What is the purpose of the internet?
If you’re reading this, you use the internet to read the often unorganized thoughts of a person with strange views on all kinds of subjects. Undoubtedly, facilitating such reading is one function of the internet. In reality, however, the internet is just a way for people to watch porn.
Similarly, an alternative currency might be a cool way to create a better store-of-value – one that’s free from manipulation of central bankers and large banks. In reality, however, it’s just a way for people to break laws governing financial transactions.
If you want to move money around the world, pay people money, save money or invest money, you quickly find yourselves dealing with lots of regulations and controls.
Any alternative currency will be facilitating illegal transactions. As such a currency gets more well established, it will facilitate more illegal transactions. Eventually, regardless of how well established it gets, it will cross the line.
Could BTC be made to comply with such regulations? Probably, though I’m not entirely sure.
Will BTC be made to comply with such regulations? Almost certainly not. Even if there was someone who could organize this process (and was willing to pay for that process), it’s not clear that there’s any sizable market for an alternative currency that actually follows regulations regarding financial transactions.
