Bitcoin could 'bring internet to a halt': BIS
newsdepo.com
The Bank for International Settlements in a report warned digital currencies like bitcoin could overwhelm and break the internet if they continue to grow. The BIS, often described as the central bank for central banks, also warned, in a 24-page report publishBitcoin could 'bring internet to a halt': BIS
The Bank for International Settlements in a report warned digital currencies like bitcoin could overwhelm and break the internet if they continue to grow. The BIS, often described as the central bank for central banks, also warned, in a 24-page report published on its website on Sunday, that cryptocurrencies cannot be trusted the way sovereign currencies can. Unlike central bank-issued denominations, virtual currencies are produced, or «mined», by banks of computers solving complex algorithms, and then freely traded online. The other key difference with typical currencies is that the number of bitcoin in existence can never exceed 21 million. There are currently some 17 million bitcoins in circulation. Bitcoin's surge in value from a few cents to a peak in December 2017 of USD 19,500 turned some of its first investors into billionaires. In a theoretical scenario where a country's entire population turned to a digital currency like bitcoin, "the size of the ledger would swell well ... Read more