Verona resident writes book about Bitcoin and other digital currency

From humble beginnings as a reporter at the Verona-Cedar Grove Times in the 1990s to his current work with The Wall Street Journal, Paul Vigna became well versed in writing about complex economic issues.

image courtesy of paul vigna

"The Age of Cryptocurrency" by Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey.

Through his work with The Journal, Vigna encountered the Bitcoin phenomenon. After learning of Bitcoin in 2013, the Verona resident decided to make it the topic of his first book.

Bitcoin is a form of digital money "for the digital age," as explained in Vigna's book "The Age of Cryptocurrency." At first, Vigna did not have much interest in the subject, but it became more appealing the more he heard about it.

"There was this tremendous energy coming from it and it was very kinetic," he told the Times. "I started to realize there was something there."

Here's how the digital currency works: users can convert money into bitcoins and spend it electronically through a phone application. Unlike a service such as PayPal, the value of a bitcoin is not measured the same as dollars, as it is more like gold than cash, according to the bitcoin website. One bitcoin equals about $240.

"When nations print more money, their currencies get weaker," the website states. "In bitcoin, nobody can just decide to increase the amount, including the creator of bitcoin."

In the book, Vigna said he tried to put digital currency into a larger context and look at it from a philosophical point of view.

"Bitcoin stirs strong opinions on the question of what money is and what money isn't, but whatever your position, one thing is clear: cryptocurrency is here to stay," the book states.

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Verona resident writes book about Bitcoin and other digital currency