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4 Hastings Sci. & Tech. L.J. 159 (2012)
Bitcoin: An Innovative Alternative Digital Currency

handle is hein.journals/hascietlj4 and id is 163 raw text is: Bitcoin: An Innovative Alternative Digital Currency by REUBEN GRINBERG* 1. Introdu ctio n ..................................................................................................... 160 I . B itcoin P rim er ................................................................................................ 162 III. B itcoin E cosystem ........................................................................................ 165 IV. Comparing Bitcoin to its Competition ....................................................... 168 A. Facilitation of e-commerce .................................................................. 168 1. Traditional e-commerce ................................................................... 168 2. M icropaym ents .................................................................................. 170 3. Virtual World and Game-Related Commerce .............................. 170 B. Gold-Backed Currencies ..................................................................... 172 V. Is Bitcoin Sustainable? .................................................................................. 174 A . Iraqi Sw iss D inar .................................................................................. 174 B . C onfi dence ............................................................................................ 175 1. Improper Use of Discretionary Authority ..................................... 175 2. Superior Competing Currency ........................................................ 176 3. Government Crackdown .................................................................. 177 4. D eflationary Spiral ........................................................................... 177 C. Potential Technology Failures ............................................................ 179 1. Anonymity Failure ............................................................................ 179 2 . T h eft ................................................................................................... 180 3. D enial of Service ............................................................................... 180 V I. L egal Issues ................................................................................................... 181 * Yale Law School, J.D. 2011; University of Texas at Austin, M.S. 2007; Yale University, B.S. 2005. The author is a first-year law clerk at a law firm in New York City. The author would like to thank professor Jonathan R. Macey, professor Ronald Mann, Melanie Keene, Gavin Andresen, and members of the Bitcoin community for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this Article. The author also thanks Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose and Bernard von NotHaus, opposing parties in the Liberty Dollar cases who took the time to answer my questions. Finally, the author also thanks Zion Maffeo, David Simson, and other helpful editors of the Hastings Science & Technology Law Journal. [159]

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