That would be factually incorrect. USD hasn't had gold backing since the 1960s. Fiat is every bit as "worthless" as Bitcoin -- it just has a bigger market.
Methinks you've been playing with "virtual currency", longer than you think. Accordingly, we'll add you to the list of people you just pronounced, "wrong". (It's only fair really). The US went off "the gold standard" in 1914 :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_standard.
However, in 1963 (? if memory serves), we went off the silver standard as well. So, the paper money issued in 1963, was the last that declared itself, "silver certificate". Which simply means that you can't go into a bank nowadays and summarily demand to exchange your paper bills for either metal.
There's some good news and bad news here. Since there's fluctuation in the price of precious metals, they can't alter the value of currency in circulation with peaks or dips in their market value. Theoretically, you could speculate in gold with paper money. OTOH, gold is far from abundant, and we humans place great value on scarcity. The bad news is, you can alter the value of currency lower, by simply printing as much of it as you feel like. In essence, all currencies are "virtual" which aren't backed by trade in value for precious metals. And alchemists through the ages have come to the sad, hard earned discovery, you simply can't "print" gold. (I think the only common material worth more than gold by weight today, is ink for our printers). So, maybe those ancient sorcerers should have done more with pigments. Well, pigments other than lead. We all know how well that turned out...
The currency of a nation however, is backed by it's GDP. So, any nation's currency is merely an avatar used for comparative value, when exchanges of goods and services are made. It's really just an abstract representation of the barter system.
If two fools want to get together and decide that a "bitcoin" is worth a kilo of smack, more power to them. At least until the fed swoops in and puts the kibosh on the festivities.
As far as how I feel about virtual virtual currency such as bitcoin, I think if people are silly enough to spend "real" money, in pursuits a frivolous as "Second Life", I'll stay away as far as possibly from it.
Yes, I've heard of Fort Knox, thanks to the movie Die Hard 3 Vengeance.
A little late to the party aren't we there Bob?
Robbing Fort Knox is almost a hackneyed plot line. Gosh, in fact, that was the plot to the James Bond Movie, "Goldfinger" which was released in 1964.
(I believe they were simply going to irradiate the gold to render it useless for 20.000 or so years. Which incidentally, "N.C.I.S. Los Angeles" (CBS) ripped part of that basic plot off for a show recently). I tell you, it's a virtual crime wave.
....[ ]....Long term, I can see them surviving as an asset until someone figures out how to counterfeit them. Gov't bans might have an impact on their value, but I can only see decisive gov't action in the wake of the weakening of an official currency...[ ]....
Here's the thing, I can very easily see a government cracking down on Bitcoin, if if becomes a threat to the currency of the realm. But, it already is a threat, to the collecting of income taxes. So remember, income tax evasion, was the only thing that the fed could pin on Al Capone, and it sent him to prison.
