這個(gè)問(wèn)世剛四年的虛擬貨幣一度被視為淺薄的時(shí)髦小玩意兒，只有不法分子和販毒人員才用。但最近幾周，它卻獲得了來(lái)自各方的全新信任，而它在中國(guó)的表現(xiàn)尤其搶眼。不過(guò)，它本質(zhì)上還是一個(gè)全球范圍內(nèi)的貨幣試驗(yàn)，它的未來(lái)依然存在不確定性。
比特幣終于迎來(lái)了走向成熟的盛大儀式。這個(gè)年方四歲的虛擬貨幣一度被視為淺薄的時(shí)髦小玩意兒，只有不法分子和販毒人員才用。但最近幾周，它卻獲得了來(lái)自各方的全新信任。美國(guó)和中國(guó)的投資者越來(lái)越有把握，這種替代性貨幣將來(lái)給普通消費(fèi)者帶來(lái)好處。
美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)首次就這種貨幣工具召開(kāi)聽(tīng)證會(huì)，高層執(zhí)法機(jī)構(gòu)和官員闡明了虛擬貨幣的好處之后，本周一，比特幣的價(jià)值躥上新高，達(dá)到700美元（隨后又在一夜之間漲到了900美元）。
首席檢察官助理麥齊利•拉曼表示，虛擬貨幣是合法的，而且“有潛力推動(dòng)更多有效的全球貿(mào)易”。盡管沒(méi)有獲得央行的支持，但美聯(lián)儲(chǔ)主席本•伯南克也表達(dá)了類(lèi)似看法。他在一封寫(xiě)給參議員的信中表示，虛擬貨幣“長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)來(lái)看可能頗有前景，尤其是如果這種創(chuàng)新有助于建立更迅捷、更安全和更有效的支付系統(tǒng)”。
就在同一天，還爆出一條新聞，全球比特幣交易量最大的企業(yè)——BTC中國(guó)公司（BTC China）獲得了來(lái)自機(jī)構(gòu)投資者光速安振中國(guó)創(chuàng)業(yè)投資（Lightspeed China Partners）和光速創(chuàng)業(yè)投資（Lightspeed Venture Partners）500萬(wàn)美元的首輪融資。
這些動(dòng)態(tài)表明，事情正在發(fā)生變化。就在上個(gè)月，聯(lián)邦當(dāng)局端掉了一個(gè)名叫“絲綢之路”的網(wǎng)上販毒團(tuán)伙，他們所有的交易都用比特幣來(lái)完成。這個(gè)行動(dòng)引發(fā)了比特幣大規(guī)模拋售。這個(gè)網(wǎng)站被取締之后，比特幣的價(jià)格暴跌了20%。當(dāng)時(shí)這種情況可能還令人難以置信，但這次打擊對(duì)這種貨幣來(lái)說(shuō)可能是大好事，因?yàn)樗兄谙忍貛诺年幇得妫怪咏髁鹘鹑隗w系。
自從絲綢之路被端掉之后，比特幣就開(kāi)始迎來(lái)大幅上漲，而它是否在美國(guó)興起其實(shí)還無(wú)關(guān)緊要。近幾周來(lái)，是中國(guó)大幅推高了比特幣的價(jià)格。據(jù)專(zhuān)門(mén)提供比特幣數(shù)據(jù)的Bitcoin Charts稱(chēng)，現(xiàn)在約三分之一的比特幣交易都是通過(guò)BTC China交易平臺(tái)進(jìn)行的，而這個(gè)平臺(tái)只對(duì)中國(guó)用戶(hù)開(kāi)放。這家公司最近取代了位于東京的Mt. Gox公司，成為全球交易量最大的比特幣交易所，公司高管表示正計(jì)劃利用最新一輪融資“實(shí)現(xiàn)快速增長(zhǎng)、拓展業(yè)務(wù)。”
為什么比特幣對(duì)中國(guó)情有獨(dú)鐘？盡管中國(guó)政府一向以強(qiáng)勢(shì)干預(yù)經(jīng)濟(jì)而著稱(chēng)，但讓人有點(diǎn)吃驚的是，這次它并沒(méi)有介入比特幣市場(chǎng)。比特幣市場(chǎng)一直波動(dòng)劇烈，但它今年的價(jià)格已經(jīng)大漲了30多倍。
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| Bitcoin has reached a rite of passage. The four-year-old virtual currency was once dismissed as something of a fad that only gangsters and drug dealers used, but in recent weeks, it has found new sources of credibility. Increasingly, investors from the U.S. to China are betting that the alternative currency could some day benefit regular consumers.
On Monday, bitcoin soared to a new high of $700 (it rose to $900 overnight), after senior law enforcement and regulatory officials highlighted the benefits of virtual currencies at the first ever congressional hearing on such monetary instruments.
Mythili Raman, acting assistant attorney general, said virtual currencies are legit and "have the potential to promote more efficient global commerce." And even though they aren't backed by a central bank, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke echoed similar sentiments, writing in a letter to senators that virtual currencies "may hold long-term promise, particularly if the innovations promote a faster, more secure and more efficient payment system."
The same day, news broke that BTC China, the world's largest bitcoin exchange by trading volume, secured $5 million in investments from institutional investors Lightspeed China Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
The developments signal a shift. Just last month, federal authorities busted an online drug ring called Silk Road, which used bitcoin for all transactions. The bust prompted a major sell off; bitcoin declined by 20% after the website was taken down. It might have been hard to believe then, but the crackdown was probably the best thing that happened for the currency. It helped clean up bitcoin's shady side, bringing it closer to the mainstream financial system.
Since the Silk Road crackdown, bitcoin has made huge gains, and whether it flourishes in the U.S. isn't really the issue. In recent weeks, China has overwhelmingly driven up the price of bitcoin. About a third of the currency's transactions now flow through the BTC China exchange, which is open only to Chinese users, according to Bitcoin Charts, which provides bitcoin data. BTC recently unseated Tokyo-based Mt. Gox as the world's largest exchange by trading volume, and executives say it plans to use its latest round of funding to "aggressively grow and expand the business."
Why the bitcoin love in China? It's surprising Beijing hasn't intervened, as the Chinese government generally keeps a heavy hand over its economy. Bitcoin is volatile, but its price has gone up more than 30-fold this year.
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上周五在新加坡舉行的一個(gè)比特幣會(huì)議上，BTC China副總裁楊林科向法新社（Agence France-Presse）表示，這種貨幣之所以在中國(guó)如此火爆，是因?yàn)橹袊?guó)人喜歡存錢(qián)，他們把比特幣看成是存錢(qián)和投資的一種工具。在他說(shuō)這番話(huà)之前幾周，常被稱(chēng)為中國(guó)谷歌（Google）的百度公司（Baidu）開(kāi)始對(duì)由其下屬企業(yè)加速樂(lè)（Jiasule）提供的一些服務(wù)接受比特幣。
但是大家在為比特幣的未來(lái)歡欣鼓舞之前，必須指出的是 ，對(duì)比特幣的大筆投資仍然是對(duì)其潛力和日益復(fù)雜的交易技術(shù)下注，它的實(shí)際用途倒在其次。專(zhuān)家們表示，比特幣在打入主流被普通消費(fèi)者接受前，還需要克服很多障礙。像WordPress和Reddit這類(lèi)網(wǎng)站已經(jīng)開(kāi)始接受比特幣支付，但據(jù)專(zhuān)門(mén)研究數(shù)字化營(yíng)銷(xiāo)的哥倫比亞大學(xué)（Columbia University）教授大衛(wèi)•羅杰稱(chēng)，這很大程度上是全球范圍內(nèi)開(kāi)展的一個(gè)大型貨幣試驗(yàn)。
還有一些必須考慮的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)和物流問(wèn)題：由于比特幣的供應(yīng)多數(shù)是固定的，導(dǎo)致它很有可能會(huì)大規(guī)模通縮，由此就會(huì)引發(fā)囤積。換言之，隨著比特幣所能購(gòu)買(mǎi)的東西數(shù)量不斷增加，每個(gè)貨幣的價(jià)值也在增加。所以，由于每個(gè)比特幣今后都能買(mǎi)更多東西，那消費(fèi)者為什么現(xiàn)在要花掉它呢。這是比特幣行業(yè)必須設(shè)法解決的一個(gè)大問(wèn)題。
另外要讓比特幣真正流行起來(lái)，還需要讓普通消費(fèi)者放心，覺(jué)得自己的錢(qián)是安全的。消費(fèi)者的比特幣錢(qián)包往往是存在手機(jī)或電腦里，這些設(shè)備都可能被黑客攻破。支持比特幣的人總是宣稱(chēng)，用比特幣支付的手續(xù)費(fèi)要比信用卡支付的手續(xù)費(fèi)低，但普通消費(fèi)者是否愿意犧牲財(cái)產(chǎn)的安全性來(lái)省這點(diǎn)交易費(fèi)還要拭目以待。
不過(guò)聯(lián)邦官員們正在制定虛擬貨幣的管理規(guī)定。比特幣未來(lái)到底會(huì)如何生存？它今后多年中如何使用？這些問(wèn)題至今都還懸而未決。只不過(guò)這種貨幣的財(cái)運(yùn)現(xiàn)在是前所未有的一片光明。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）
譯者：清遠(yuǎn)
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| At a bticoin conference in Singapore last Friday, BTC China's vice president Linke Yang told Agence France-Presse that the currency has become big in China because its citizens are big savers and see bitcoin as a vehicle to park and invest their money. His remarks come a few weeks after Baidu (BIDU), often referred to as the Google of China, began accepting bitcoin for some services offered by its subsidiary, Jiasule.
But before anyone gets too excited, it's worth saying that any bet on bitcoin is still more of a wager on its potential and the growing sophistication of its trading technologies than its practical use. Bitcoin will have to overcome big hurdles, experts say, before it goes mainstream with average consumers. Websites like WordPress and Reddit have accepted bitcoin as payment, but it is largely one big monetary experiment being tested across the world, says David Rogers, a Columbia University professor who specializes in digital marketing.
A few risks and logistical challenges to consider: Because the supply of bitcoin is mostly fixed, it has a massive deflationary bias that encourages hoarding. In other words, as the amount of things that bitcoin can buy increases, the value of each coin increases as well. So since each coin should be able to buy more goods in the future than it can today, it's hard to see why consumers would spend bitcoin now when they can use it to buy much more at a later date. That's a big kink the bitcoin industry will need to work out.
And for bitcoin to take off, it needs to assure average consumers that their money is safe. Customers' biction wallets are typically stored in their phones or computers, which can be hacked. Proponents often claim that it costs less to process a bitcoin payment than a typical credit card payment, but it remains to be seen if average consumers are willing to give up the security of their money to save on transaction costs.
Federal regulators are developing rules for the virtual currency, however. How bitcoin will exist in the future, if at all, and what it will be used for years from now is unclear. But the currency's fortunes are looking brighter than ever.
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