揭秘比特币在中国：可以买咖啡、在网上消费
本报记者 杨汛
I'm a reporter, Yang Jian.
在计算机技术高超的“极客”圈子里悄然流转了4年之后，一种被称之为“比特币”的货币开始逐渐走入大众的生活。可是与看得见、摸得着的纸币相比，它又显得非常神秘：只以计算机数据的形式存在于网络中，在某些领域甚至可以直接取代流通货币，可以买咖啡、在网络上消费。它甚至成为了一种投资品，价格暴涨暴跌，最低时一个仅仅1美分，可最高时竟然有人花200多美元求购。
Four years after the euphoria of computer technology, a currency known as “bitcoin” began to move into the lives of the general population. But, compared to the visible and tactful currency, it seems very mysterious: it exists in the network only in the form of computer data, and in some areas it can even directly replace the currency in circulation, buy coffee and consume it on the Internet. It is even an investment product, with prices skyrocketing and falling, at a low of just a penny, but at a high of 200 dollars.
比特币是什么？为什么它能够被当成“钱”来使用？什么原因促使它的价格涨跌，犹如云霄飞车？
What is Bitcoin? Why can it be used as money? What causes its price to rise and fall, like a roller coaster?
起源
一个黑客开发的加密数据
Encrypted data developed by a hacker
昨天下午，田甲正在等他的“比特币挖矿机”到货。“这一台非常厉害。如果还用老机器挖矿，100天才能挖到一个比特币；可是用这台机器预计一天就能挖到3.5个。”
Yesterday afternoon, Tanaka was waiting for his Bitcoin miner to arrive. "This one's amazing. 100 days to dig a bitcoin with an old machine; but this machine is expected to dig 3.5 a day."
这个毕业于清华大学计算机系的“极客”，也是比特币的资深玩家。他口中的“老机器”，是他2011年在中关村花1万元攒的一台电脑，也是他的第一台“矿机”。正是在那一年，田甲第一次听说了比特币的概念。
This is a senior player in Bitcoin who graduated from Qinghua University's computer department. His name is the old machine, which he spent $10,000 on a computer in Nakamura in 2011 and his first miner. It was that same year that Tanaka first heard of the Bitcoin concept.
“当时有一篇报道，名字叫《史上最危险的货币》。”这个看上去危言耸听的题目并没有妨碍田甲对比特币的兴趣，他开始追根溯源。
“There was a story called The Most Dangerous Currency in History.” This seemingly alarming subject did not hinder the interest of TMA, and he began to trace it.
2009年1月3日，一个化名叫“中本聪”的黑客，在网络上发布了开源的第一版比特币客户端。比特币就此诞生。但这个新生儿，从出生起就面对着质疑的目光：凭什么一组计算机数据可以流通，甚至被称之为货币？这种并非由中央银行发布的虚拟货币如何保证安全性？怎么避免超发和滥发？
On 3 January 2009, a hacker named “Middle-to-Hear” published on the Internet the first version of the open-source Bitcoin client. Bitcoin was born. But the newborn, from birth, was faced with the question of what a set of computer data could circulate, or even be called money? How can a virtual currency that is not issued by the Central Bank guarantee security?
“这些问题如果从纯技术的角度分析，可能说上一天也说不完，比特币的奥妙在于它的运行系统。”田甲说，这套基于密码学原理的系统首先给比特币的发行量封顶，即最多只有2100万个，这样就杜绝了货币超发导致通货膨胀的危险；它同时还能够确保每一个比特币不被伪造和复制，可以追溯每一个比特币的去向，使其不被用来反复支付。
“If these issues are analysed from a purely technical point of view, it may be impossible to finish the day before, and the wonder of Bitcoin lies in its operating system.” Tanaka argues that the system, based on cryptography, first capped the circulation of Bitcoin, i.e., at most 21 million, thereby eliminating the risk of inflation resulting from over-emitting currency; it also ensures that every bitcoin is not forged and copied and can be traced back to every bitcoin, so that it is not used for repeated payments.
挖矿
digs
3个月挖出100个比特币
exhumed 100 bits of bitcoin for 3 months
要想获得比特币，需要使用计算机依照规定的算法，进行大量的运算来获得比特币。这一过程，就是田甲所说的“挖矿”。
In order to obtain bitcoin, a computer is required to perform a large number of calculations to obtain bitcoin in accordance with the prescribed algorithms. This process is referred to as “mining” in the field.
在“挖矿”时，电脑搜寻64位数字，通过反复解密，并与其他采矿者相互竞争，为比特币网络提供所需的数据。如果用户的电脑成功地创造出一组数字，那么就将会获得比特币的奖励。
In “mining,” computers search for 64-digit numbers to provide the data needed for the Bitcoin network by repeatedly decrypting them and competing with other miners. If a user’s computer succeeds in creating a set of numbers, it will be rewarded with Bitcoin.
由于运算数量过于庞大，一般的电脑无法满足“挖矿”的需求。因此，2011年7月，田甲花费1万元，给一台电脑配上了4张高性能显卡，使之成为一台“矿机”。“4张显卡全都是AMD当时的旗舰级显卡5870，发热量也高，每天24小时开机‘挖矿’，坐在屋里很快就汗流浃背。”
Because the number of calculations is too large for the general computer to meet the “mining” requirement. Thus, in July 2011, the field was set up with four high-performance cards for a computer, making it a “mine machine”. “All four cards were AMD's then flagship card 5870, with high heat and a 24-hour-a-day `mining', and were sitting in the house and sweating quickly.”
不过，挖矿的收获让田甲忽略了盛夏炎热之苦。“刚开始的时候，一天能挖到两三个比特币，一个可就是30多美元啊！”
However, the harvest of the mining has left the heat of the summer behind. "At the beginning, two or three bits of bitcoins can be dug up in one day. One is more than $30."
如此“挖矿”持续了3个月，田甲获得了100个比特币。但就在2011年10月的时候，他结束了“矿工”生涯，卖掉了“矿机”，把挖到的100个比特币封存在自己的账户里。
This “mining” lasted three months, and the field was given 100 bitcoins. But in October 2011, he ended his career as a miner, sold the miner and sealed 100 bitcoins he had dug up into his account.
“后来越来越难挖了，挖到比特币的数量锐减，有时候好几天都没有1个。”田甲说，比特币的数量是有限的，但参与挖矿的“极客”却越来越多，使用的“矿机”也越来越先进，僧多粥少。
“It has become more difficult to dig, and the number of bitcoins has declined dramatically, sometimes not one for days.” Tanaka says that the number of bitcoins is limited, but that the number of “polars” involved in mining is increasing, and the use of “mine machines” is becoming more sophisticated, with fewer porridges.
另一个更重要的原因，是比特币经历了一次外来的重创。
Another more important reason is that Bitcoin has experienced an external shock.
2011年6月19日，全球最大的比特币交易中心Mt.Gox遭遇黑客攻击，并把窃取到的比特币进行抛售，导致此后的一段时间比特币的价格一度跌至1美分。
On 19 June 2011, Mt. Gox, the world's largest bitcoin trading centre, was hit by hackers and sold the stolen bitcoin, causing the price of bitcoin to drop to one cent for some time thereafter.
几乎就在同一时间，另一组“矿工”李杰和他互联网软件公司的同事们，也卖掉了自己的“矿机”，暂时封存了挖到的上千个比特币。在此后的一年多时间里，比特币的价格始终没有超过15美元，变得有些“沉寂”。
Almost at the same time, another group of miners, Li Jie, and his colleagues at Internet Software, also sold their own machines, temporarily sealing thousands of bitcoins that they had dug up. For more than a year, Bitcoin’s price never exceeded $15 and became somewhat “silent”.
疯狂
{\bord0\shad0\alphaH3D}It's crazy {\bord0\shad0\alphaH3D}It's crazy {\bord0\shad0\alphaH3D}
比特币1个月内涨了5倍
bitcoin increased fivefold in one month
谁也没有想到，人口仅110万的欧洲岛国塞浦路斯，会成为比特币重新疯狂的导火索。
No one could have imagined that Cyprus, a European island with a population of just 1.1 million, would be the trigger for the re-crash of Bitcoin.
2013年3月16日，塞浦路斯为获得欧盟的进一步援助，提议通过对每个银行存款账户征税，筹集58亿欧元的法案。消息一出，塞浦路斯人纷纷涌向银行挤兑。同时，一部分人开始对比特币这种没有中央政府控制、基于全球互联网体系运行的虚拟货币大感兴趣。一家公司打算在塞浦路斯开通“比特币ATM机”，短短几天就接到了无数订单。
On 16 March 2013, in order to obtain further assistance from the European Union, Cyprus proposed the adoption of a bill to raise Euro5.8 billion by taxing each bank deposit account. As soon as news came out, the Cypriots were rushing to the bank.
这股狂热通过互联网被很快放大，比特币不再仅仅是“极客”们的玩具，引来了真正的炒家和投机者。
This fanaticism was quickly magnified via the Internet, and Bitcoin was no longer just a toy for the “extreme” and brought in real players and speculators.
3月16日，比特币的价格是47美元。到了4月9日，一个比特币的价格竟然一路突破200美元，直达266美元的高点。更加刺激的是，随后持币人抛售，比特币的价格再次一路暴跌至54美元左右。
On 16 March, the price of Bitcoin was $47. On 9 April, a bitcoin price went past $200, up to $266. More exciting, the price of Bitcoin fell again to about $54.
“前一段国际金价下跌，我们开玩笑说这算什么‘暴跌’，比特币才是，每天起床看一眼，账户上就增减几万美元，像坐过山车一样。”李杰说，在这股涨跌大潮里，自己也乘势卖出了一些比特币。“虽然不是在最高点卖的，但是跟当时‘挖矿’的成本相比，也算是赚了很大一笔。”
“The previous international gold price fell, and we joked that it was a ‘shock’, bitcoin, rising up and looking at it every day, adding or reducing tens of thousands of dollars in the account, like a mountain truck.” Li Jie said that in this boom, he sold some bitcoins himself. “Although not at the highest, it was a lot of money compared to the cost of mining at the time.”
展望
Outlook
车库咖啡收下比特币
除了被投资或者投机，比特币开始与实体商品实现兑换。更通俗的说，是在某些领域可以被当成“钱”用了。
Besides being invested or speculating, bitcoin begins to convert to real goods. More commonly, it can be used as “money” in some areas.
位于海淀图书城附近的车库咖啡，以浓厚的创业氛围吸引了众多的电脑“极客”和互联网创业者云集。就在今年3月，美国留学生杰克在这里使用0.012比特币，购买了一杯咖啡。虽然交易的金额并不高，但这却是车库咖啡做成的第一笔比特币生意。
In March of this year, Jack, an American student, used 0.012 bitcoins to buy a cup of coffee. Although the amount of the deal was not high, it was the first bitcoins to do business with garage coffee.
“当时我们这正好有一帮‘极客’朋友，很了解比特币的属性，所以我就同意用比特币结账了。”车库咖啡创始人苏菂说，接受比特币买单起因于“好玩”。此外，淘宝网上也已经有十多家商户表示可以接受比特币购物。
“At that time, we had a group of ‘extreme’ friends who knew the properties of Bitcoin, so I agreed to settle the bill in bitcoin.” The founder of the garage coffee, Su-chan, said that accepting bitcoin for the bill was “funciation.” Moreover, there were more than a dozen businesses on the web that had offered to buy bitcoin.
与国内市场对比特币只是浅尝辄止相比，国外市场却已经围绕比特币产生了一系列相关产业，如比特币交易所、用比特币上市的公司、比特币资讯网站、第三方支付网站等。
Compared to the fact that the domestic market, bitcoin, is only a shallow one, foreign markets have generated a range of related industries around bitcoin, such as the Bitcoin exchange, companies listed in bitcoin, the Bitcoin information website, and third-party payment websites.
在美国，比特币已经开始应用于日常生活，2012年10月专为比特币提供支付解决方案的创业公司BitPay发布报告说，已经有超过1000家商户通过他们的支付系统来接受比特币的付款。
In the United States, bitcoin has begun to be applied to daily life, and Bitpay, an entrepreneur dedicated to providing payment solutions for bitcoin, released a report in October 2012 that more than 1,000 businesses have received Bitcoin payments through their payment systems.
截至今年3月底，全部发行的比特币按市价换算为美元后，总值突破10亿美元。这个敢为天下先的虚拟货币，究竟是成为“极客”心目中“虚拟世界的必需品”，还是在炒家的投机行为中崩盘，还有待时间来给出答案。
By the end of March of this year, the entire distribution of bitcoins, converted into United States dollars in market terms, had reached a total value of over $1 billion. Whether this virtual currency, which dares to be the first in the world, has become the “necessary of the virtual world” in the eyes of the “extreme” or whether it has collapsed in the speculation of the stowaways, for which time has yet to come to an answer.
记者手记
开公司玩这个，疯了？
为了挖到比特币，“矿工”们开着“矿机”全天无休，挥汗如雨。此情此景，让人联想起淘金热潮。只是淘金者摇动筛子，留下的是金砂；“矿工”们耗去了电费，获得的是一组组计算机数据。 In order to dig up bitcoin, the miners drove the mine machine all day long, sweating and sweating. This picture reminds people of the gold rush. It's just gold sifting, leaving behind gold sands; the miners consume electricity, and they get a set of computer data. “过去几年内，因为全球流动性泛滥，各国央行都在搞量化宽松，引起了一些担心。”但中国建设银行高级经济师赵庆明对于比特币的未来仍不看好：“我觉得极有可能是昙花一现，目前它已经成为一个投机标的，另一方面缺乏金融体系支撑。” “Since the past few years, central banks have been experiencing quantitative easing as a result of the proliferation of global liquidity, raising some concerns.” However, Zhao Qingming, Senior Economist of China’s Construction Bank, is still not well placed to see the future of Bitcoin: “I think there is a real possibility that it has become an object of speculation, on the one hand, and lack of financial system support, on the other.” 美国经济学家保罗·克鲁格曼的评价更加不留情面：“一个货币体系的要求并非让持币者变富；我们要货币体系实施交易，让整个经济变富。”比特币固定的供应量推高了价格，而这种比特币经济非常容易引起“金钱囤积、通货紧缩以及经济萧条的危险”。 The assessment of United States economist Paul Krugman is even more insensitive: “The demand of a monetary system is not to make the currency holders rich; we want the monetary system to make transactions to make the economy rich.” The fixed supply of bitcoins pushes prices up, and the Bitcoin economy is very vulnerable to “the risk of money accumulation, deflation and economic depression”. 至于比特币会不会成为下一个击鼓传花的“庞氏骗局”，采访中的一番对话或许能做一个小小的注解。 As to whether Bitcoin would be the next “Ponzi con” to beat flowers, a dialogue in the interview might be a small note. 一位“矿工”自己拥有一家企业，不过他的“挖矿”却只在家里小范围进行。当记者问到既然看好比特币，为什么不利用公司力量扩大规模时，他微笑：“当个兴趣就好，哪敢开公司玩这个，疯了？” A miner owns a business, but his mining is done only in small areas of the house. When a journalist asks why the company's power is not being expanded by watching Bitcoin, he smiles: "When you're interested, you can't open a company to play this, crazy?" (来源:北京日报)
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