Re: The Bankers 1 BitCoin 0
@AC
"If this shadier part of the currency didn't exist then you could have some confidence in the system."
It really depends on what part of "the system" you are talking about. From what I understand of it, the mining part and general cryptography is quite robust. That is only part of the larger Bitcoin 'ecosystem', however.
This includes 'wallets' and exchanges and 'banks' and brokerage services and payment portals and it is these that might be cause for any concerns about the security of Bitcoin.
In other words, the Bitcoin system itself is safe enough, but the companies that have sprung up to Bitcoin-related services are the weak link. This is unsurprising: one is based on hard, impersonal maths, while the other is based on squishy, easily distracted meat with a predisposition towards self-importance and greed.
But that's talking about confidence in the security of the system - that your precious bitcoins are safe from theft. The other important 'confidence' is the confidence that the currency will hold its value from one day to the next, whereupon you can exchange it for something of equivalent value.
Bitcoin is far too volatile for that and there is no consensus on if it will reach an equilibrium and, if so, what that will be. Some say we're in a bubble, others contend that $1000 is a reasonable figure. Still others say $0 is the true value.
So, there's confidence that you will still have your money tomorrow and then confidence that it will actually be worth anything tomorrow!