The crying of bitcoin lots

[Mark Kohut]

LAURA WINS THE PLIST today working in the phrase "Inherent Vice" in an unexpected context. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 6, 2014, at 12:59 PM, <kelber at mindspring.com> wrote:

> OK, Krugman doesn't like it because he's not clear what the basis of its value is. And he quotes some blogger who says: 
> 
> "BitCoin looks like it was designed as a weapon intended to damage central banking and money issuing banks, with a Libertarian political agenda in mind—to damage states ability to collect tax and monitor their citizens financial transactions."
> 
> I agree with that assessment. Whether one thinks this is a good or bad outcome, the bitcoin, by virtue of its untraceability,  is a menace to governments trying to tax their citizens' income.
> 
> But then there's the US Marshall Service muddling things up by deciding the bitcoins have value and auctioning them off. Did they consult with the US Treasury, or just wing it on their own? Are they a rogue agency? If they did get a go-ahead from elsewhere in the government, well, that's interesting too. It could mean that the Treasury and/or other US agencies and/or officials have decided that bitcoins do have inherent value (but no inherent vice, given that they have no physical incarnation).
> 
> LK
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
>> From: alice malice <alicewmalice at gmail.com>
>> Sent: Jul 6, 2014 12:16 PM
>> To: "pynchon-l at waste.org" <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>> Subject: Re: The crying of bitcoin lots
>> 
>> I'm with Krugman. From a positive economics perspective I'm not
>> convinced it has value. Sliding toward the normative economic point of
>> view, I'm with Robert Shiller on the Bitcoin.  I find the science and
>> culture of it fascinating, as I find Tulips fascinating too, and Gold,
>> and, for different reasons, Yap, but I think it's a very good lesson
>> in bubbles.
>> 
>> Shiller, though most famous for his Housing Index, the Case Shiller,
>> much to the surprise of his students and investment gurus the world
>> round, claims that housing is not an investment. Nor is Gold,
>> Tulips...Bitcoins.
>> 
>> I agree with him.
>> 
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbtVaTWs6II
>> 
>> 
>> http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/28/bitcoin-is-evil/
>> 
>> http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-shiller-bitcoin-2014-1
>> 
>> 
>> http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/02/15/131934618/the-island-of-stone-money
>> 
>> On Sun, Jul 6, 2014 at 10:16 AM,  <kelber at mindspring.com> wrote:
>>> A story about how the U.S. Marshals Service auctioned off some of the bitcoins it "confiscated" from the deep web (or whatever you want to call it) Silk Road network:
>>> 
>>> http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/03/daily-report-winner-of-bitcoin-auction-seeks-to-increase-currencys-use-in-emerging-markets/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Technology&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body
>>> 
>>> What interests me is how the decision was made to auction the bitcoins, which obviously enhances their value. Wasn't the US government trying to squash the bitcoin? I think these supra-national currencies are the wave of the future, and mark the eventual, if not demise, then marginalizing of government-issued currencies. But what do I know. Alice, I'd actually like to hear your opinion on this.
>>> 
>>> Laura
>>> -
>>> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
>> -
>> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
> 
> -
> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
-
Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l