Opinion | Bitcoin's teething troubles not unusual
Chaos and wrong turns accompany any pioneering business, but the virtual currency may yet end up confounding its naysayers
The development of bitcoin, the global virtual currency, has been a real roller-coaster ride for its owners and a source of fascination for many others, including myself, who tend to think this whole thing is a bit dodgy but nevertheless full of possibilities.
Bitcoin is back in the news following the seizure of the Silk Road website, which employed bitcoin as a payment system for illegal goods. This seemed to vindicate US Senator Charles Schumer's 2011 warning that it could be used as a currency for terrorist and criminal transactions.
Schumer wanted to shut bitcoin down, and the Silk Road seizure has given others a reason to echo his call. I cannot help but observe that when US dollars are used to pay for drugs and weapons no one suggests the abolition of that currency, but let's leave aside the complex matter of means and ends and focus on where this leaves bitcoin.
Adam Levine, the editor-in-chief of the Let's Talk Bitcoin blog, was quoted in this newspaper as saying: "It's an inevitable transition phase. If bitcoin is going to turn into a mainstream thing, this has to happen. The legitimate uses cannot be overshadowed by illicit uses."
Levine has a point and, in a wider context, it is one that might well be appreciated in Hong Kong. Some of the leading companies here, now beacons of respectability, were heavily involved in the opium trade in their early days when they too were pioneering new markets.
In circles where investment-speak prevails, bitcoin is designated as a contrarian investment, as opposed to being described as a bit of a gamble.