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- Bitcoins are sometimes called virtual cash. But a better analogy is to Rai stones, a currency historically used in Yap, an island in Micronesia. Yapese used large stone disks, up to 12 feet in diameter, to pay for big transactions. Difficult to move, however, Rai stones were often just left in their place. A person using his stone to pay someone else would publicly announce the transfer of the stone’s ownership. According to one anthropologist, a large stone once fell into ocean en route to the island. Rather than mourn the loss, the islanders continued to accept the stone as a valid form of payment, even though no one ever saw it again.
flagamuffin · 1754 days ago · link ·
This is not and should not be the function of 'regular' currency. Therefore, invalid criticism of BTC.And this means, of course, that nobody can tell Bitcoin users what they should and shouldn’t be spending their money on -- for good or for ill.
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Well, hang on. 1) You are a prostitute where prostitution is illegal. 2) I pay you for a sexual act in recognized currency (money). 3) I am an undercover cop. 4) You go to jail for soliciting. OR: 1) You are a prostitute where prostitution is illegal. 2) I pay you for sex in an unrecognized currency (bitcoin, for example). 3) I am an undercover cop. 4) We go to the supreme court over whether or not we conducted a "transaction" or an "exchange" because one is an A felony and the other is a C felony. For the longest time, possession of marijuana was legal in Alaska but sales were illegal. What's a "sale?" There's a big legal difference between "pay" and "trade for" and that, right there, is one of the sticky wickets of unregulated currency.
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flagamuffin · 1754 days ago · link ·
True. My statement was more than a bit ridiculous anyway for a number of reasons.
colegeprofessor · 1754 days ago · link ·
This comment has been deleted.