EconomicsToo

Bitcoin is now worth over $1000 USD, a three year high and it actually outperformed all  r eal  currencies over 20016, literally doubling in value. As a cryptocurrency , it could seem a little strange to some how a currency that doesn't actually exist outside of the digital world can perform better than currencies such as the Chinese yuan, the Russian ruble, although it might not be a surprise that it performed better than any currencies called the 'pound' in 2016 (think of the British and Egyptian pounds!). Image source: Bit4coin This excerpt from the WSJ explains bitcoin well, "...it is a digital currency , maintained by a software program that is run on a decentralized network of computers by the so-called “miners” (for a variety of reasons, the largest miners today are all located in China). No one person or entity controls the currency. Every transaction is recorded in a publicly viewable ledger, although user accounts are encrypted. It was conceived as ...