European Central Bank Casts Wary Eye Toward Bitcoin

An anonymous reader writes "Erik Voorhees blogs for bitinstant.com: 'On Oct 29, 2012, the European Central Bank (ECB) released an official (and very nicely prepared) report called "Virtual Currency Schemes (PDF)." The 55-page report looks at several facets of what virtual currencies are, how they're being used, and what they can do. As it happens, the term "Bitcoin" appears 183 times. In fact, roughly a quarter of the whole report is specifically dedicated to Bitcoin and it's probably a safe assumption that Bitcoin's growth over the past year was the catalyst for producing this study in the first place. The report from the ECB concludes, in part: Virtual currencies fall within central banks' responsibility due to their characteristics, and Virtual currencies could have a "negative impact on the reputation of central banks."' Could this be the first step toward regulation of the digital currency?"

Comments

Re:Cast in a negative light, obviously

[zotz]

"Every time you make a system too efficient, you reduce the number of workers but with economies it's important to have as many people working as possible."

But I have the perfect solution for that little problem and have been quietly promoting it in my country for years now:

The Department Of Beach Surveys.

The government hires people and sends them to the beach every day. They get a clipboard and a short form to fill out daily.

Date:
Location:
Survey Taker:

Did you see any sea life today? Y/N
Did you see any birds today? Y/N
Did you see any land animals on the beach today? Y/N
Was it Windy / Calm?
Was it Sunny / Rainy?
Did you encounter any tourists on the beach today? Y/N
      If Yes, did they seem to be having a good time? Y/N
Did you have an enjoyable day at the beach today? Y/N
Optionally note below anything of interest you might want to.

Perhaps if your country does not have enough beaches, you could send those workers to our country to do the surveys here.

all the best,

drew