All You Wanted to Know About Bitcoin But Were Afraid to Ask

MarketWatch--formerly a CBS property, now a Dow Jones one--has an interesting special report on the Bitcoin phenomenon. I personally think it's much ado about nothing, but your opinion may differ. I have previously blogged about how m-banking will be the likely catalyst for the emergence of a widely-used virtual currency. Alas, Bitcoin is neither a play on mobile nor backed by major sponsors (i.e., telecoms in conjunction with financial services industries).

Bottom line: Bitcoin's 'failure' has little to do with the potential advantages of virtual currencies but rather Bitcoin's particular deficiencies in conception and implementation--many of which have to do with governance (or, better yet, the lack thereof).