The virtual currency that is bafflingly difficult to explain—without sounding like a victim of the Internet who has bought into a scamming fantasy money exchange—appears to be slowly encroaching on the real life market, with Richard Branson announcing in an interview with CNBC that a coveted ticket on his Virgin Galactic flight to space was paid with a virtual goldmine of bitcoins.
“I think the fact that there’s going to be a limited number of bitcoins out there and it will ultimately be capped—unlike normal currencies where governments can print more currencies—gives it a sense of security,” said Branson, who (duh) was an early, entrenpenurial investor of bitcoins, as was the woman and soon to be galactic tourist who allegedly reaped lucrative rewards from seeing her bitcoin investment flourish.
The bitcoin transaction was transferred into dollars ($250,000) to facilitate a potential refund if desired. According to Wired, Virgin Galactic has sold more than 600 tickets for its flights to space, with the first set to be setting off next year, a prospect that is both frightening and incredibly exciting at the same time, mostly because it confirms that we are truly are living in the overwhelming clutches of the future.
The legitimacy of bitcoin transferring to the everyday market and becoming a ubiquitous currency, however, may well be a distant reality. With its major market facilitator, The Silk Road, closing down this year the rate of bitcoin fluctuated massively, but then saw a surprisingly huge recovery and rate at an all time high; moreover, its relatively early days and opportunistic buy ups have made its price volatile, shifting on the market regularly. In saying that, bitcoins in Australia, aside from helping you buy up the galactic ticket of your dreams, can also be used to help out your mate’s vanity project on Pozible, and buy beer at a pub in Sydney. Tickets to space, donations to questionably plotted short films and beer in Sydney? Bitcoins have got all the Australian essentials covered.
Via Wired.
Title image by Adrian Dennis via Getty.
