Regional Bitcoin equivalents have popped up in Iceland, Czech Republic, Spain and Greece, all this year, created in the hope of bolstering local economies.
It’s not uncommon for such ‘community currencies’ to emerge in difficult times –  when traditional currencies fail or are in short supply – but the internet has made it easier to create them. What is new and a huge deal, according to Leander Bindewald, of London’s New Economics Foundation, is that “these technologies and ideas are being picked up by the financial establishment”. These innovations have little or no regulation, so only time will tell if they’re safe. One thing is sure though: the future
of money just got a lot more complicated.

 

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