Coast To Coast Am - January 15 2014 - Bitcoin / The Watchers
Guests:
William Henry, David Seaman
In the first half of the program, reporter David Seaman discussed the latest developments surrounding the digital currency Bitcoin. "This has never happened before in human history," he marveled, "where people have created a major currency without the backing of a state." He detailed how Bitcoin differs from traditional currency models in that there is a limit of 21 million units of which there are currently only 12 to 13 million in circulation. Blocks of 25 Bitcoins, he said, are created every 10 minutes via a process called 'mining,' where advanced computers solve complex mathematical problems and are rewarded with new units. According to Seaman, this system was designed to mimic the mining of precious metals as a way of increasing the perceived value of the Bitcoins.
Seaman suggested that the value of Bitcoins will continue to grow as major retailers begin to accept the currency as a form of payment. Noting the resounding success seen by Overstock.com when they recently integrated Bitcoin, he surmised that, should Amazon or PayPal follow suit, the value of the units could grow exponentially. Additionally, he surmised that further economic unrest throughout the world may see people turning to Bitcoin as a more stable place to put their money, since it is not subject to government-caused inflation. To that end, Seaman declared that the ability of Bitcoin to weather the Chinese government's decision to restrict its usage was proof that "a decentralized global currency is more powerful than any one government's decision."