Alternative/Independent News

Now, in Second Place Is …

"The yuan in October emerged as the world’s second-most used currency in global trade finance. Countries generally trade through the dollar. They convert euros (or whatever the local currency happens to be) into greenbacks to buy some load of widgets from the Chinese. Then, China takes those dollars and converts them into yuans. But now countries are increasingly bypassing the buck and just dealing directly in the yuan. Yes, the dollar still plays a role in 81% of world trade, and the yuan is only at 8.7%. But all big trends start off small – the yuan was less than 2% of trade as recently as January 2012 – and this, mark my words, is part of a much bigger trend. And it will impact your life." Continue reading →

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Is Bitcoin Becoming the Anti-Dollar?

"It's not impossible to attack Bitcoin, but the effort to do so isn't trivial. Plus, there are ten thousand bright, young, adaptive people working on the technology every day, and their numbers are rising. If these people adapt and cooperate, any attacks will have temporary effects. (Even a full shut-down of the Internet wouldn't stop it for long, but I'll leave that discussion for another time.) If the Chinese, and/or Indians, and/or Russians start using Bitcoin as a way around the dollar, the world will change, and quickly. And that's looking more and more likely. These are interesting times. Those who break their stasis – who act and adapt – will not only thrive, but will find adventure and satisfaction along the way." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Awareness Grows in South Korea After Central Bank U-turn

"Kevin Lee is a Seoul-based bitcoin entrepreneur and CEO of BitcoinKorea, South Korea’s first bitcoin business and portal. He has traveled around Asia attending bitcoin-related conferences and meetups, and wants to be instrumental in promoting its use in his native land. He thinks South Korea’s need for digital currency options are similar to China’s: a way to diversify investments and find a way around capital controls. Lee, a friend of Asia-based bitcoin missionary Roger Ver, said the pair will tour South Korea from 8th to 23rd January to spread the word – talking to major news organisations and helping to introduce Kraken, an exchange that launched in the country just last Friday." Continue reading →

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Everyone Is Baffled By Alan Greenspan’s Comment About Bitcoin

"'You really have to stretch your imagination to infer what the intrinsic value of Bitcoin is. I haven't been able to do it. But if you ask me, 'Is this a bubble in Bitcoin?' 'Yeah, it's a bubble.' People are baffled by this remark. That's because Greenspan refused to call the housing bubble a bubble, and presided over the dot-com bubble despite seemingly having recognized it as such as far back as 1996, when he made his "irrational exuberance" speech." Continue reading →

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