my 2 cents: along the "far fetched" lines, it is definitely a possibility that this was a govt initiative, and possibilities 1 and 2 (not 1 or 2) seem to fit m

my 2 cents: along the "far fetched" lines, it is definitely a possibility that this was a govt initiative, and possibilities 1 and 2 (not 1 or 2) seem to fit my reasoning. countries that fit my argument are those with large trade deficits; have little or no natural resources; are known to run smuggling networks of drugs, counterfeit money, etc. countries with little or no economic resources are constantly under economic pressure to trade in "trusted" currencies. they need to purchase commodities and resources where counter-parties only accept strong currencies (usd, eur, gbp, chf, nok, etc.). it's impossible doing business with a large/influential commodities trader unless you trade in any of the currencies above. given that these countries are unable to generate enough foreign reserves via exports, large undercover networks that smuggle all kinds of illegal goods/services are unofficially permitted. e.g. class a drugs, counterfeit money (sold at a discount. think for a second why some top notch usd counterfeiters are located in africa and asia), free/subsidised drugs sold back to developing countries by 3rd world countries, etc. consequently the creation of a virtual currency, that does not require an export, and that it can be easily printed with ubiquitous technology/computing power is a great way to make up for the real economic shortfalls. final remark: still, i think the chance of this being the case is very slim. right now the trade deficits/currency needs by many countries that fit this profile are orders of magnitude larger than the overall value of the bitcoin market. unless the size of the btc market grows at a very high rate i seriously doubt this can be an effective tool to run the above operations.