Some things are valuable because they’re useful, or because people want them. Others are valuable because the government says they are.
For hundreds of years, money has fallen into the second camp. It has little intrinsic value in itself, but governments have backed it up, first with gold, and now with a promise to use its control of the levers of monetary policy to make sure it’s worth something. Because of that government backing, people are willing (indeed forced) to use it as a medium of exchange.
Bitcoin is something new. Developed by a secretive developer who dubbed him- or herself Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, the currency is entirely digital and operates independent of any government. Instead, its value is upheld by a series of design functions that ensure it grows at steady but slowing rate. There are two ways to get Bitcoins. You can buy them from others using traditional currency, or you can “mine” them.
A single Bitcoin is essentially a number that satisfies a certain mathematical equation. There’s a limit to how many numbers can satisfy it, so there’s a limit to the number of Bitcoins. People who “mine” Bitcoins are operating advanced computers 24/7 to run the equations to find new numbers, and gaining those numbers (now Bitcoins) for themselves when they do. They then verify their discoveries of that Bitcoin and help verify transactions of Bitcoins made by others (the internet allows them to track the movement of Bitcoins from user to user).
It’s a complicated design, but that’s how the developers avoid the problem of having people claiming they have a whole lot of Bitcoins when they don’t. It’s a complex way to build something never attempted before: a decentralised currency.
For the first two years after the currency launched, a single Bitcoin sold for a few American cents. In 2011, online publisher Gawker published an article on how Bitcoin was being used to buy “any drug imaginable” on online marketplace Silk Road. The value of Bitcoins to US dollars shot up, but the boom didn’t last. By August that year the currency had lost half its value, leading many to think it was done for.
But since then, the value of Bitcoins has been on the up. Bitcoins are notably volatile, often shifting as much as 8% in value over the course of a day, but if we look at the broad trend, the value of Bitcoin has been steadily rising. Since the start of this year it’s surpassed all previous records (see chart). And since the Cyprus banking crisis at the end of last week, it’s risen even further, including against the Australian dollar. Against the American dollar, it’s up 57% in just a week.
For journalists, this poses a problem. With most speculative movements, it’s possible to discern who is making money and who’s losing it. In fact, the world’s Rich Lists heavily depend on the ability to chart how people’s investments in various entities are tracking based on the market price of those assets.
Story continues on page 2. Please click below.
Myriam Robin is a reporter for SmartCompany and its sister site LeadingCompany. She has degrees in economics, international studies and journalism. She likes writing about businesses taking risks and doing new things.
