11-28-2013, 09:57 AM
Governments like the USA have FIAT currency. It basically has value because the government says it does, not because it's backed by gold or any other precious material. They therefore can print lots of money and control it in a centralized location. Crypto currencies like bitcoin are decentralized, so no one has control over it or its price (theoretically at least. If a group has a controlling market share, they can set the price of the currency). Anyone can also "print" it by running a miner off of your video card. There's tutorials how to do it if you google.
Basically, nerd currency > wall street currency.
Basically, nerd currency > wall street currency.