>how is it going to scale beyond protecting the few wealthy info-elite that can protect themselves?
This is why I have trouble with Bit Coin. I actually like the idea of Bit Coin, a predictable monetary policy that has many of the advantages of a traditional inflationary economy, but without the ability of a political entity to make short term fixes that screw us over in the long term. But the problem is that we're transferring elite status to a different group of people. In the end, your ability to mine coins, process transactions, protect yourself and transact business using a non-trivial system is an advantage and screw everyone who doesn't get it. If you don't have advanced hardware and cheap electricity, you're disadvantaged. If you don't know how to use a mouse, you're disadvantaged.
I wish I was smart enough to come up with a better solution.
This is why I have trouble with Bit Coin. I actually like the idea of Bit Coin, a predictable monetary policy that has many of the advantages of a traditional inflationary economy, but without the ability of a political entity to make short term fixes that screw us over in the long term. But the problem is that we're transferring elite status to a different group of people. In the end, your ability to mine coins, process transactions, protect yourself and transact business using a non-trivial system is an advantage and screw everyone who doesn't get it. If you don't have advanced hardware and cheap electricity, you're disadvantaged. If you don't know how to use a mouse, you're disadvantaged.
I wish I was smart enough to come up with a better solution.