# Bitcoins and Alternative Currency

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitcoins-and-alternative-currency/650448>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [February 15, 2013, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitcoins-and-alternative-currency/650448 "2013-02-15T23:34:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitcoins-and-alternative-currency/650448/1 "2013-02-15T23:34:21Z")

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I have been studying up on bitcoins. I feel I have a good grasp about how they work and are mined. I have followed the value a bit as well.

As far as bitcoins or chime in for other alternative or crypto-currencies:

Are they here to stay?

I know it is purely speculative but does anyone wanna offer a guess what bitcoins might be worth in 1-2 years?

Would you ever use them to either buy goods or take them for payment?

What would it take to make you comfortable?

Will they loose their rap as Silk Road drug currency?

The internet is almost it’s own country should it have its own currency? Is it the bit coin?

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**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitcoins-and-alternative-currency/650448/2 "2013-02-16T02:09:03Z")

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> **[Are bitcoins ever going to be a viable currency?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=663881)**
>
> I just discovered and have started learning more about bitcoins. It seems like a fascinating idea to me. However, I wonder just how viable of a currency it may become? I really don’t know much about their history or anything really, other than just...

There’s a thread I started on this very topic a while back.

My opinion after discussing it with others and delving into it a bit myself: it’s a libertarian fantasy that will have limited, mostly black-market uses. It’s never going to be very popular.