Bitcoin Creating Interest and Controversy

比特币带来利益和争议

From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。

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.

很多人购买商品，为服务付款或向世界任何地方转账都在使用比特币。他们在使用这种电子货币时无需用到银行、信用卡或其它金融服务。

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.

和国家货币不同，比特币并非由政府发行。比特币经过电子加密，它能像其它货币一样通过贸易公司买卖、转让。转让时无需政府介入或监管这种货币。

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）是乔治·梅森大学的一位科技政策分析师。他说比特币是全球第一个真正的数字货币，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，“比特币第一次解决了一个计算机科学问题，它允许仅仅两方在网上交易，所以它是去中心化的。在交易中没有比特币公司，没有政府，它有点类似电子邮件。”

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，人们喜欢比特币的原因也是犯罪分子所喜欢的。他们希望在政府不知情的情况下，将资金从某地秘密转移到另一个地方。美国执法机构最近关闭了一家使用比特币的网上市场。

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.

马可·桑托利（Marco Santori）是比特币基金会监管事务委员会主席。他指出，所有比特币交易都能被所有其它电脑看到。他还表示，认为无人监管这种货币是错误的。

"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.

桑托利说，“比特币其实受到了非常严格的监管。用比特币兑换其它数字货币或美元的货币转移（兑换）机构受银行保密法的约束。”

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.

系统中的比特币数量必须一直被跟踪计数。监视并认证比特币交易的用户电脑能得到新的比特币。布里托表示，更多资金就这样增加到这个系统中来。

"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.

布里托说，“每10分钟就有大约25.5个比特币进入这一经济中，它被随机发放给为计算机容量做出贡献的矿工。”

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.

美国、德国和其它许多国家接受使用比特币，但一些官员已经要求加大对这种电子货币的监管。中国最近禁止其银行参与比特币交易，但未禁止企业参与。

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

自2009年比特币诞生以来，其价值已经从几美分涨到数百美元。