Arizona passes gold and silver legal tender bill

Julia Dixon on April 14, 2013

But you can’t buy your groceries with silver coins just yet, the bill, SB 1439, still requires the governor’s signature.

The legislation was inspired by Utah’s legal tender law passed in 2011. Arizona’s version would allow Arizona residents to use gold and silver with the same recognition as Federal Reserve notes starting in 2014… assuming of course that your local grocery store is willing to accept your silver coins; the bill does not require anyone to accept gold or silver in payment.

Predictions on gold, bonds, “cut-off of supply chains” and the bypassing of the US Dollar from Jim Willie

Julia Dixon on April 12, 2013

In a recent interview with USAWatchdog.com the always exuberant Jim Willie gives some very interesting predictions.

Jim sees the BRIIICS (that includes Iran and Indonesia) moving away from the US Dollar, the Yen and the Euro and adopting a USD alternative for trade. He believes the East will sell off its US bonds, continue to purchase gold (driving it up to $7,500) and perhaps adopt “gold trade notes”. As he sees it the consequences of this will not be inflation, but a “large widespread cut-off of supply chains” in the states as foreigners will not be willing to accept US Dollars.

The 28min interview is full of colorful commentary and interesting thoughts including the possibility of “bail-in’s” in the states.

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Bitcoin on a Roll

Julia Dixon on April 5, 2013

  • As Bitcoin’s USD value shoots above $100, Bitcoin ATM is getting quite a lot of attention. CEO Jeff Berwick has made numerous appearances on financial news shows.

On Tuesday Jeff appeared on CNBS’s “Squawk on the Street” to discuss Bitcoin with Rick Santelli.

In an interview with Business Insider Jeff announced that Bitcoin ATM now has “orders for 300+ machines in 30+ countries and are moving quickly to handle the demand.”

  • The BitcoinStore, a new Bitcoin electronics seller and self-proclaimed competitor to Amazon, has sold $500,000 worth of products and renewed its contract with its wholesaler. The contract with Ingram allows the online store to offer product at lower prices than retailers such Amazon and NewEgg.
  • Western Union considers using Bitcoin.

 

Ukash introduces Cash Withdrawals service in the UK

Julia Dixon on April 3, 2013

Later this month Ukash customers in the UK will be able to easily convert their Ukash vouchers back into cash, no credit card needed.  To provide this service Ukash has partnered with PayPoint who has more than 24,000 locations in the UK.

Ukash CEO, David Hunter, says the partnership will provide consumers with greater flexibility and will encourage more e-commerce retailers to add Ukash as a payment option.

More details here.

GoldMoney discusses Bitcoin with Jon Matonis

Julia Dixon on March 31, 2013

I very much sympathize with the old school goldbug scepticism about Bitcoin. It’s very reassuring to feel the weight of your money in your hand, and I don’t believe that Bitcoin meets with Mises regression theorem. But even if you don’t see Bitcoin as a sound form of money, you have got to admit that it’s damned useful! Bitcoin is perhaps the best alternative available at the moment for those suffering under the fiat banking system. As such it’s great to see an increasing number of traditional goldbug institutions, such as GoldMoney, embrace Bitcoin.

In a new podcast GoldMoney’s Andy Duncan discusses Bitcoin with the Bitcoin Foundation’s Jon Matonis. They discuss Bitcoin’s volatility, it’s dependence on the internet, 1 yr and 10 yr predictions for the currency and the ongoing Bitcoin vs Gold debate.

Listen to the podcast here.

Mises.org: Cyprus and the Unraveling of Fractional-Reserve Banking

Julia Dixon on March 31, 2013

The Cyprus “bail-in” model of bank rescue, which seems to be gaining popularity, is simply frightening.  Fractional reserve banking is built upon depositors trust in their banks, “for fractional-reserve banking can only exist for as long as the depositors have complete confidence”. Financial regulators are destroying their own system by making depositors fear for the safety of their money… they’re either that stupid or that desperate.  Frightening.

Joseph T. Salerno sees the silver lining here arguing that Cyprus may bring about the unravelling of the current banking system and expose “the true nature of fractional-reserve banking for all to see.”

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