Move Over Bitcoin, Here Comes PotCoin [View all]

Bitcoin has been the standard cryptocurrency for awhile now, but now there's a new competitor aimed at the marijuana industry.

Crytocurrencies such as Bitcoin are used by people who want to make anonymous financial transactions, but now there's a new kid on the block and it's aimed right at an economic sector it desperate need of ways to deal with millions of dollars in cash.

The economic sector is the "legal" marijuana industry in the US, and the cryptocurrency trying to tap that market is PotCoin. Actually, it's not the only one, but it does appear to be the one with the best chance of competing with Bitcoin, according to the Cryptocurrency Times.

Because marijuana remains illegal under federal law, pot shops and related enterprises are largely unable to use traditional financial services like banks and credit card providers to take care of business. The financial institutions are afraid of being prosecuted for money laundering or similar charges by the feds, and while bills have been filed to address the marijuana banking problem, none of them has yet to pass.

Thus, many of these pot businesses are operating on a cash-only basis, which is not only inconvenient, but also dangerous. And since pot businesses lack a non-physical way of completing secure transactions, if there is one industry for which cryptocurrencies make sense, it is the US marijuana business.

MORE: http://www.alternet.org/drugs/move-over-bitcoin-potcoin