Bitcoin: Problem, Reaction, Solution?Julie Beal Since most people specialise, not diversify, within their field of knowledge, few people are in a position to judge Bitcoins efficacy, or its potential effect. We know Bitcoins clever, and we know its popular, but we cant be sure it will win. Only time will tell. Because both the stated purpose, and the design, of Bitcoin, is to improve upon the problems of our current economy, many activists have come to believe Bitcoin is far better than what we have now, and is therefore worth pursuing. However, there are also activists who have always said were heading for a New World Order with a one-world currency, controlled by an implanted ID-microchip which can be turned off remotely, and Bitcoin is one of the many digital currencies which are the first step in this direction. Its totally digital, and is also totally dependent on proprietary hardware, bandwidth, and energy supplies. Nonetheless, the initial rumours that Bitcoin is anonymous seem to have stuck, and digi-cash is officially cool, and its users feel empowered. Its media reputation goes hand-in-hand with Anonymous, Assange, Manning, and the mask (all classic icons for a future story, telling the history of the Wild Wild CyberWest, and how it was tamed). But there are many who believe that Bitcoin has the potential to become the trackable, turn-off-able digital currency weve always talked about one that makes a microchip so precious, its safer to implant it. Citizen: barcoded. The resulting schism amongst activists would be all the more ironic, therefore, if Bitcoin turns out to be a stepping stone to the Verichip. Advocates of Bitcoin suggest its better to trust the math. As an opponent of purely digital, trackable currencies, thats like asking me to trust A.I. to run the world, instead of human beings. (Google and NASA have the worlds biggest quantum computer, capable of cracking any cryptographic codes, and they intend for it to be the biggest and best Artificial Intelligence possible.) A basket of global currencies is evolving, but few Bitcoin advocates, or opponents, seem aware of the existence of currencies such as Ven, Mintchip, and the Eco-pesa. However, the power of Agenda 21 is pitching us towards a future of eco-currencies, backed by nature (ecosystem services), and by those in power. The most worrying development was the conference last month, at which plans to implement a global sustainable currency, called the Globo, were announced, as a way to address currency wars, and the cost of payments online. Reform of the payments ecosystem has been taking place for many years, in response to the spread of smartphones and internet access, and their effect upon business, finance, and public services. People want the ease and convenience of a digital wallet, and the infrastructure for this is almost in place, e.g. NFC. The ID chips are now in phones and computers, using technology approved by the NSA (trusted computing),and protocols approved by governments (the Open Identity Exchange). All thats needed now is to convert all cash into a digital format. Bitcoin, for all its cryptographic genius, will always be vulnerable to regulation, and reliant on corporate hardware. If its success increases, more and more middlemen will become involved in the transmission of Bitcoin, and the regulation of trust between peers. Once Bitcoin is just another currency in the Data Asset Transfer Grid, run by Ripple, the Skynet will be complete. Recently by Julie Beal: 