VOA慢速英語:比特幣帶來利益和爭議

比特幣帶來利益和爭議

From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語經濟報道。

Many people who want to buy goods, pay for services, or send money anywhere in the world are using Bitcoin. They do not have to use banks, credit cards or other financial services when they use the electronic currency.

很多人購買商品，為服務付款或向世界任何地方轉賬都在使用比特幣。他們在使用這種電子貨幣時無需用到銀行、信用卡或其它金融服務。

Unlike national currency, Bitcoin is not issued by governments. Bitcoin is electronically protected or encrypted. It is bought, sold and transferred like other currencies through trading companies. Transfers happen without governments being involved or regulating the currency.

和國家貨幣不同，比特幣并非由政府發(fā)行。比特幣經過電子加密，它能像其它貨幣一樣通過貿易公司買賣、轉讓。轉讓時無需政府介入或監(jiān)管這種貨幣。

Jerry Brito is a technology policy analyst at George Mason University. He says Bitcoin is the world's first, true digital currency, that is not controlled by anyone.

杰里·布里托(Jerry Brito)是喬治·梅森大學的一位科技政策分析師。他說比特幣是全球第一個真正的數字貨幣，它不受任何人控制。

"Bitcoin basically solved a computer science problem that, for the first time, allows just two people to transact online, so it's decentralized. There's no Bitcoin company, there's no government, it's kind of like email."

布里托表示，“比特幣第一次解決了一個計算機科學問題，它允許僅僅兩方在網上交易，所以它是去中心化的。在交易中沒有比特幣公司，沒有政府，它有點類似電子郵件。”

However, the very things that people like about Bitcoin, are also what criminals like about it. They want to move money from place to place secretly, without governments knowing about it. Law enforcement agencies in the United States recently closed an online market that used Bitcoin.

然而，人們喜歡比特幣的原因也是犯罪分子所喜歡的。他們希望在政府不知情的情況下，將資金從某地秘密轉移到另一個地方。美國執(zhí)法機構最近關閉了一家使用比特幣的網上市場。

Marco Santori is the chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation's Regulatory Affairs Committee. He notes that all Bitcoin transactions can be seen by all other computers, and he says they believe that no one regulates the currency is not true.

馬可·桑托利(Marco Santori)是比特幣基金會監(jiān)管事務委員會主席。他指出，所有比特幣交易都能被所有其它電腦看到。他還表示，認為無人監(jiān)管這種貨幣是錯誤的。

"Bitcoin is in fact heavily regulated. It is very heavily regulated. Those who exchange Bitcoins for other digital currencies or exchange Bitcoins for dollars are money transmitters under the Bank Secrecy Act," said Santori.

桑托利說，“比特幣其實受到了非常嚴格的監(jiān)管。用比特幣兌換其它數字貨幣或美元的貨幣轉移(兌換)機構受銀行保密法的約束。”

The amount of Bitcoins in the system must always be counted and tracked. Users' computers that watch and approve Bitcoin sales and purchases are given new Bitcoins. Mr Brito says this is how more money is added to the system.

系統(tǒng)中的比特幣數量必須一直被跟蹤計數。監(jiān)視并認證比特幣交易的用戶電腦能得到新的比特幣。布里托表示，更多資金就這樣增加到這個系統(tǒng)中來。

"Every 10 minutes, there are about 25.5 Bitcoins introduced into the economy, and it is given to one of the miners, kind of at random as it were, who are contributing the computer capacity," said Brito.

布里托說，“每10分鐘就有大約25.5個比特幣進入這一經濟中，它被隨機發(fā)放給為計算機容量做出貢獻的礦工。”

The United States, Germany, and many other governments accept the use of Bitcoins, but some officials have called for stronger regulations on the electronic currency. China recently banned its banks, but not businesses, from trading in Bitcoin.

美國、德國和其它許多國家接受使用比特幣，但一些官員已經要求加大對這種電子貨幣的監(jiān)管。中國最近禁止其銀行參與比特幣交易，但未禁止企業(yè)參與。

Since its beginning in 2009, the value of a Bitcoin has increased from just a few pennies to hundreds of American dollars.

自2009年比特幣誕生以來，其價值已經從幾美分漲到數百美元。