Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'Bitcoin'

April 20, 2022

Should you bet on Bitcoin?

For those who’ve heard the word a lot but are still not sure what it means, cryptocurrency is a digital asset used to make purchases. It operates using a computer network, often a blockchain, a shared ledger that acts as a mechanism to transfer value from one person to another and that records and stores information in chains of “blocks”—chronological groups rather than tables or folders like more traditional databases. Continue Reading...
April 04, 2019

Alejandro Chafuen in Forbes: Aquinas and Bitcoin

Yesterday in Forbes, Alejandro Chafuen, Acton’s Managing Director, International, analyzed moral questions of cryptocurrency in light of St. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa theologiae. It is an application of centuries-old thought to a very recent phenomenon—but of course, as the article seeks to show, moral considerations are perennial even as their particular objects change. Continue Reading...
July 12, 2018

Can Bitcoin solve the classic problems of money?

The digital currency Bitcoin has not only attracted a lot of interest from investors, but it has raised some intriguing economic and financial questions. Economists and other theorists have long grappled with problems such as inflation, counterfeiting or money laundering. Continue Reading...
July 03, 2018

Hayek is the prophet of cryptocurrencies

Even among freedom minded individuals, classical liberalism gives way to conservative resistance on the issue of money. The view prominent on the right and the left is that money is the exclusive right of the state, rather than private initiative. Continue Reading...
July 26, 2017

The political implications of bitcoin

Prior to the publication of John Maynard Keynes’ The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, balanced budgets reflected the received wisdom for governments. By making the case for debt spending in times of recession (and the virtually ignored case for restricting spending in times of growth), Keynes gave political leaders a license to abandon the requirement of balance. Continue Reading...
December 17, 2014

Bitcoin is (Nearly) All Dead

Earlier this year I declared that Bitcoin was (nearly) dead. But as The Princess Bride’s Miracle Max once explained, “There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. Continue Reading...
June 13, 2014

An Evangelical College Becomes First in the U.S. to Accept Bitcoin

Christians colleges aren’t usually known for being on the cutting-edge of technology. But The King’s College, an evangelical college located in New York City, is leading the way by becoming the first accredited college in the United States to accept Bitcoin for tuition and other expenses: “The King’s College seeks to transform society by preparing students for careers in which they help to shape and eventually to lead strategic public and private institutions. Continue Reading...
April 10, 2014

How Bitcoin Could Help the World’s Poor

Bitcoin is dead, long live Bitcoin. A few weeks ago the IRS killed off any chance that Bitcoin could become a mainstream currency. That’s probably for the best since it clears the way for it to become something much more important: the world’s first completely open financial network. Continue Reading...
March 27, 2014

How the IRS Killed Bitcoin as a Currency

“For federal tax purposes, virtual currency is treated as property.” With those ten words, the IRS has made it more difficult — if not impossible — for bitcoin and other virtual currencies from gaining widespread, mainstream acceptance as a currency for commercial transactions. Continue Reading...