Bitcoin has become a scorching-hot commodity among speculators

SAN FRANCISCO — Pure gold or Fool’s gold?

Bitcoin, “virtual currency” that isn’t recognized by any nation or bank in the world, was once dismissed as a goofy idea embraced by nerds and anti-government types. Today, it’s considered either an ideal payment system for the Internet or a digital Ponzi scheme.

Yet become a scorching-hot commodity among speculators — including the Winklevoss twins made famous in the Facebook movie, The Social Network — who are trading the digital currency.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, popularly known as the Winklevii, say they own nearly 1% of the outstanding supply of the $1.3 billion bitcoin market, or about $11 million. (Tyler Winklevoss did not respond to email messages.)

The Winklevii have plenty of company: Andreessen Horowitz and other venture capitalists on Thursday said they were funding a company, OpenCoin, that is a bitcoin competitor. Tim Draper, founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, has invested in CoinLab, which is doing bitcoin-related projects. And Tribeca Venture Partners has put money in Coinsetter, a startup trading platform for the digital currency.

Venture capitalists and entrepreneurs consider bitcoins the ideal currency of the digital age, with decentralized currencies and free movement of money globally.

“Finally, a finance system in the digital era we’ve been looking for,” OpenCoin CEO Chris Larsen says, underscoring what he calls “a lot of excitement in the math-based currency movement.”

It is also practical for transactions — especially those overseas. “On the Internet, which is anonymous, you can pay across borders — fee free — without going through the rigmarole and risk of using a credit card,” says Chris Dixon, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. - Read more here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/04/13/bitcoin-opencoin-winklevii-andreessen-horovitz-coinlab/2078161

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