Bitcoin: a digital currency enjoying an "epic rise", potentially 'revolutionizing' global payments system

The bitcoin. Ever heard of it? I hadn't either until an astute reader mentioned it in a comment recently. In researching this new currency, a digital one, I became intrigued, then astounded. Wikipedia explains the bitcoin:

"Bitcoin (sign: BTC) is a decentralized digital currency based on an open-source, peer-to-peer Internet protocol. It was introduced in 2009 by a pseudonymous developer, Satoshi Nakamoto. ... Bitcoin is the most widely used alternative currency and accepted by various merchants and services internationally. As of April 2013, the monetary base of bitcoin is valued at over $1 billion USD."

And I go..."Huh. How 'bout that."

Forbes Magazine says Bitcoin is a disruptive technology. They explain what it is this way--

A financial network is a technological platform that people build businesses on top of. And the traditional banking and credit card networks are closed platforms. If you want to build an e-commerce site, a payment network like Paypal, or any other service that deals in dollars, you need to convince incumbent financial institutions to do business with you. Getting such a partnership is difficult and involves a lot of red tape.

There’s a good reason for the high barrier to entry: electronic transactions in the conventional banking system are generally reversible. If someone makes a fraudulent charge to your credit card, you can dispute the transaction and in most cases the bank or the merchant, not the customer, will cover the cost. That’s convenient for consumers, but it requires the financial system to be a fairly close-knit web of trust. Allowing a new member into the club creates risks for everyone else. So the incumbents are understandably reluctant to deal with anyone who isn’t well-known and well-capitalized.

Bitcoin is different. Because transactions are authenticated cryptographically and cannot be reversed, there’s no need to restrict access to the network. There’s no risk to accepting payments from complete strangers. That means people don’t need anyone’s permission or trust to go into business as a Bitcoin-based merchant or financial intermediary. Accepting Bitcoins also allows merchants to avoid much of the administrative overhead, like dealing with chargebacks, that come with a conventional merchant account.

So though I don't understand much about the intricacies of international commerce and the currencies that allow it, the bitcoin seems to me to be a way to get around the Man. After what happened in Cyprus (the Man, i.e. banksters, scooped out money from the citizens' accounts just cuz.) The bank of Cyprus failed, there was a bank run, and riots, upper crust mucky-mucks were allowed to get their money out but not the peons like you and me, now it appears that key data is missing from banking records and they are vehemently denying there is a gold reserves sell-off. The bitcoin looks better every day. And that's no joke, look at this article from NPR-

Bitcoin Surpasses $200 Mark, Continuing 'Epic' Rise

Bitcoin, the digital currency that trades outside the control of central banks and international borders, reached new heights Tuesday, surpassing the $200 mark for the first time. That level comes just five days after bitcoin approached $150, a development that Mt. Gox, the largest exchange service for the currency, deemed to be "epic." Bitcoin's rise has been sharp. It was only two months ago that exchange rates put a single bitcoin's value at around $20. ... Whatever the cause, bitcoin's gains have translated into new wealth for people who bought into it since it was created in 2009. The currency is released at a very steady rate — "roughly every 10 minutes 25 new bitcoins come into circulation," as last week. Its adherents say that regular pace, and the fact that there is only a finite number of bitcoins, make it an attractive alternative to government-backed currencies. Just over half of the 21 million bitcoins in existence have so far been released."

The international economic system is interesting. I do not understand its mechanisms. But God does. He told us in the bible that the system at the end of time (Tribulation years) will undergo a radical and massive shift from what we have known in recent generations just prior, to a one world government and economy.

No, the bible does not use the phrase "one world economy" but it describes it. Revelation 13:16-18,
"Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,e to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666."

One mark indicates THE currency or at least entry into the economic system, and absent the mark, denial of participation in the economy. "It" is the beast,and make no mistake, the economic control by this beast (antichrist and later satan directly) will be global.

The bitcoin is digital and outside the current system. The last economy on earth will be a digital one also. Though the bible does not say, it indicates this by saying that the mark will be on or in the hand or forehead, and that having it means one can buy things. How it will likely work is that at the point of sale the mark will be passed over a digital mechanism that will verify it as authentic and at the same time withdraw the money. If all peoples on the globe have a mark (except Christians who refuse) then controlling it as a day in and day out currency must mean the data behind it is centralized, accessible, and digital. We practically have this now with debit cards and other bar coded swipe items that automatically bring up your account.

Whether the bitcoin will morph into the mark or not it is interesting that the banking system is in collapse, the economic system is in collapse, and there is a widely used alternative currency that already has the digital infrastructure to become something more than resembling the mark of the beast.

As an aside, I am 52 years old and never in my wildest imaginings did I think that 30 years ago or 20 or even 10 that we would be using digital currency to the extent we are (I mean not only bitcoin but debit cards and paypal etc).

Developments are moving fast. And lest you think that bitcoin is an esoteric monetary mechanism outside the spheres of real people, as of February 2013 bitcoins can be used to buy Domino's pizza. As of today, this article from the NY Times states,

"Bitcoin is the new new thing but the question is whether it will end up in the same dustbin as Dutch tulips and Pets.com, or, as its backers believe, turn into a disruptive technology with the potential to revolutionize the global payments system."

Given the times, the lateness of the hour, and the certainty of the coming one world economy, I'd put smart money bitcoins on the latter.