I feel like there is a misunderstanding about what being "backed by the United States" means. It doesn't only mean that the currency is trusted and fluid internationally, it also means (perhaps most importantly) that American businesses are required absolutely to accept dollars.
I can run a bar, or cafe, for example, and take tourist euros and yen and dinars if I want, and bitcoins too. But if I decided to only take euros, that would be illegal. In fact for tax purposes all those other currencies would have to be converted to dollars.
The dollar is "trusted"partly because it is Legal Tender. Nothing will change that short of economic apocalypse, at which point things like gold, oil, whiskey, and bullets, is probably a much better investment. The idea that bitcoin will retain value as the dollar and euro and yen collapse seems laughable to me. No one will care how rich your computer says you are.
Slashdot Mirror
I feel like there is a misunderstanding about what being "backed by the United States" means. It doesn't only mean that the currency is trusted and fluid internationally, it also means (perhaps most importantly) that American businesses are required absolutely to accept dollars. I can run a bar, or cafe, for example, and take tourist euros and yen and dinars if I want, and bitcoins too. But if I decided to only take euros, that would be illegal. In fact for tax purposes all those other currencies would have to be converted to dollars. The dollar is "trusted"partly because it is Legal Tender. Nothing will change that short of economic apocalypse, at which point things like gold, oil, whiskey, and bullets, is probably a much better investment. The idea that bitcoin will retain value as the dollar and euro and yen collapse seems laughable to me. No one will care how rich your computer says you are.