Bitcoin. What the heck have I been missing?

It appears to be some sort of barter system with regular government currency turned into some Internet or online currency that can be traded and used to pay for things without government control. Or, as the advocates of Bitcoin seem to be saying, without government interference.

I asked someone who is involved with Bitcoin to tell me some of the benefits of the Bitcoin market.

Among the advantages of using Bitcoin instead of U.S. Dollars or some other official currency are:

*You can buy illegal drugs with bitcoin.
*You can circumvent currency controls and move money freely across international borders.
*You can move money freely and anonymously and perhaps avoid taxes.
*If you do accept bitcoin as payment the payer cannot "chargeback" without your consent.
*You can legally (at least for now) gamble online with bitcoins.


Wow, lots of advantages there for things I do every day! (That's the symbol for sarcasm.)

Well, knowing that Bitcoin really is helpful for drug dealers, tax cheats, illegal international traffickers, smugglers, and other criminals I feel I am probably safe from future thefts. After all, why would some drug kingpin want my US Dollars when what he really needs are Bitcoin. (That's the symbol for sarcasm again.)

I can just imagine gangsters in cities now having their Monday morning conference calls on hijacked cell phone accounts plotting who to take hostage so they can seize their Bitcoin accounts.

And should the governments of the world ever outlaw Bitcoin I can just imagine what the Bitcoin movement will say: If Bitcoin is outlawed, only outlaws will have Bitcoin.