The predecessors of bitcoin and their implications for the prospect of virtual currencies.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 25919027.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0123071 and PMC identifier PMC4412541.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
To examine whether the recent price patterns and transaction costs of Bitcoin represent a general characteristic of decentralized virtual currencies, we analyze virtual currencies in online games that have been voluntarily managed by individuals since 1990s. We find that matured game currencies have price stability similar to that of small size equities or gold, and their transaction costs are sometimes lower than real currencies. Assuming that virtual currencies with a longer history can provide an estimate for Bitcoin's prospects, we project that Bitcoin will be less influenced by speculative trades and become a low cost alternative to real currencies.