In the past few days, bitcoin hit a new peak, reaching $69,000 briefly; on Thursday it had fallen back a little to about $67,000. Photograph illustration: Dan Kitwood/Getty Imagesis back in the news. The gyrations of its price are noteworthy because they create extreme excitement for its enthusiasts. These people believe, with a cultish fervour, that bitcoin will eventually replace money. It’s a big claim.
Bitcoin was conceived after Wei Dai, a Chinese-American engineer, first described the idea of a “cryptocurrency” on the Cypherpunk mailing list in 1998. Cyberpunk, with which the mailing list was associated, is a fascinating art, literature and social movement that advocates for anti-establishment, social change through embracing technology, basically punk rock for the internet age.
A way to think about bitcoin is to consider a coal mine with a finite amount of coal in it. Miners hack away to bring the coal up to the surface, knowing eventually it will run out. Bitcoin is a cybermine where cyberminers hack away, trying to find combinations that will crack a code, releasing a precious bitcoin. The code is set by a computer algorithm that has a
This has made it a hub for criminal activity, from ransomware attacks to buying drugs on the dark web. Not only is it used for illegal activities, but it means illegal activities online have been made easier due to its existence. However, the anonymity aspect has waned and a recent report suggests that the US Federal Reserve is
We in Ireland have seen this game before in the land boom/bust of the Celtic Tiger years. Unlike land or houses, bitcoin doesn’t hold any tangible value – after all, it is just computer code We in Ireland have seen this game before in the land boom/bust of the Celtic Tiger years. But unlike land or houses, bitcoin doesn’t hold any tangible value – after all, it is just computer code. It is not money, that is clear, and it has no more real value than any other cryptocurrencies. Its “legitimacy” stems only from the fact that it is the biggest cryptocurrency.