Ditching BHP + RIO shares for Bitcoin

I finally ditched my BHP and RIO shares today after hoping in vain that they would recover since I bought them just before the GFC crash in 2008. It’s only a couple of thousand dollars, so I ignored them for a while. I know I should have done something sooner, but anyway…
The trigger? Reading Mark Andreessons excellent, no-nonsense and jargon-free post on why Bitcoin is an alternative currency of the future, but more than that, the new online business opportunities presented. Like anything new, the risk appears high, but some of us have to get in to prove or disprove the viability of any new technology.

So I’ve cashed out my very flatline shares in BHP and RIO

and I’m going to use this cash to play with Bitcoin via Coinjar, a local Bitcoin wallet/merchant/exchange.

The risk is low — I could lose the money, but I will do what I love doing best — LEARN. And, either way, I will be one of the early pioneers that seed alternative thinking, whether Bitcoin succeeds or fails.

Now imagine using fee free ultra-micropayments in under-developed and unbanked areas such as parts of Africa as part of an SMS based banking solution to enable transactions that are currently too small to absorb the credit card/processing fee.

mmm….