Re: Bubbles - Such as? Let me be more specific. If I shall quote wikipedia - "It could also be described as a trade in products or assets with inflated values" Doesn't Bitcoin set to eliminate inflated values? With no central authority controlling the amount of currency available or loaned at certain rates then valuation becomes absolute, no?
Re: Manipulation - I'm not sure I understand how the value of the currency can be manipulated. If the value is directly set by the end user then it's impossible to manipulate.
If the value is directly set by the end user then it's impossible to manipulate. Only if it is impossible to manipulate the end user. Aka there is nothing in the system to prevent fraud or any other pump and dump scheme you can come up with. So no, with no fraud controls in place Bitcoin does nothing to eliminate inflated values, and really can't unless they have come up with a technological solution to lying.
An example of a bubble before the SEC was created, and in fact lead to its creation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929The rising share prices encouraged more people to invest; people hoped the share prices would rise further. Speculation thus fueled further rises and created an economic bubble.
Re: Manipulation - I'm not sure I understand how the value of the currency can be manipulated. If the value is directly set by the end user then it's impossible to manipulate.