IMO, a system (or financial product) outside of the regulated currency-based systems are, and likely always will be, a destabilizing force that a government (or governments) will do their best to shut down. Or at the very least they will make it very difficult to be widely used by everyday citizens for everyday needs.
A decade or so ago i had a very interesting education on hawala by an EM money mgr., and the impact on a sovereign's money supply (and concurrent ability to issue & service its own debt).
The numbers then were staggering, and I cannot fathom how large the underground network is today.
Looks like Sweden or a Swedish bank is the first to really push to squash it.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-0...ex-trader.html
Quote:
Originally Posted by PQJ
As a speculative investment, no thanks. As a future alternative to transacting business with cash, credit cards, checks, wire transfers or by bartering, most definitely.
|