You actually managed to draw me back from lurker mode with that topic. :-)
Getting 1000$ for bitcoin: mtgox.com for starters. That's just one of the trading houses.
2140: Until 2140 (or thereabouts) new coins can be mined. The total amount of coins is 21 million, not more. Sounds bad, but you have to keep in mind that bitcoin has 8 digits, so that should work out. Much worse might be, that bitcoin is inherently deflationary, so people have no real interest in selling them, since one bitcoin would be worth more in the long run. Kynesian economists probably vomit at the thought of that.
Bubble: Likely, since the bitcoin was at just $10 in January. The question is: If the bubble bursts, will it dive BELOW $10 or not? My guess ist: no.
Fair price: What's fair to you? Fair is what the market decides, in my book. In that way bitcoins are probably the most democratic form of money there is, since all other fiat currencies are in some way manipulated (Excahnge rate management, politics, interest rate adjustments, etc. pp.)
Money being mental: Of course bitcoins are all mental and have no real value. No Fort Knox no nothing. But take a look at the fiat currencies: The gold backing those is negligible compared to the amount of paper money that is in circulation. What gives currencies their strength is just one resource: Trust. In that way bitcoin is the same as any other (fiat) currency. The difference in my book is that nobody is screwing around with it with policies (Just yet, anyways) and that it is a truly multinational if not global currency. As such it should weather a local crisis a lot better than a normal fiat currency.
|