You can't claim that the Euro isn't a financial instrument just because you don't live in Europe. They are issued by the European Central Bank and national cent

You can't claim that the Euro isn't a financial instrument just because you don't live in Europe. They are issued by the European Central Bank and national central banks of Eurosystem members, who in turn share the liability (explained briefly here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro#Issuing_modalities_for_banknotes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro#Issuing_modalities_for_ban...). This makes the Euro a traditional currency which bitcoin isn't. That's not to say bitcoin is worthless, since its value is really whatever someone is willing to pay for it.