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Why It’s Black Friday for Virtual Money
One new feature this year is the fuss around Bitcoin, the doyen of virtual money. A specific Bitcoin Black Friday website has been launched whereby punters can get hold of offers uniquely offered through the Bitcoin virtual currency. At best the jury is still out on Bitcoin. It does offer the advantages of independence from any government, an inherent monetarist character (Bitcoin “coins” are mined using an algorithm that eventually terminates, leaving a fixed money supply) and it has been termed a legitimate financial service by as US Senate Committee. However, it is open to speculation (the value of a single Bitcoin has just reached $1,000) and there is certainly no gold standard or reserve to back it – conversion back to a hard currency is at the whim of exchangers. Often it is viewed more as a speculative commodity than a currency. Even so, the first ATM offering Bitcoins has opened in Vancouver.
As for Bitcoin Black Friday, the website might be live but the deals are more like budget turkey slices– thin and unappetising.