The dream of dispensing with the physical aspects of money is old. Several attempts had been made before Bitcoin. Throughout human history, an incredible array of mediums have been used as money ranging from massive stones on the Yap Islands, over seashells in Melanesia, to paper notes in China. The diversity and imaginative thrust notwithstanding, money always had a physical aspect.
The physicality of money has apparent drawbacks. If one needed to go to the market in the next town to buy a horse, ...
