36 Cities Dump U.S. Dollar for Thomas Edison's Monetary System- Unproven!

36 Cities Dump U.S. Dollar for Thomas Edison’s Monetary System- Unproven!

Summary of eRumor:

This is a forwarded email alleging that 36 cities in 20 states in the U.S. have forsaken the dollar and replaced it with a monetary system invented by Thomas Edison in 1922.
 

The Truth:

TruthOrFiction.Com has found no evidence of any city in the U.S. dumping the dollar.

This appears to be an advertising campaign to raise awareness on Bitcoin and to sell investment newsletter subscriptions.   We found such an ad on the website of political writer and commentator Dick Morris.

The source of the rumor is a financial website called Money Map Press who compared the virtual currency Bitcoin to Edison’s monetary concept calling it, “Edison’s Renegade Currency.”   The advertising campaign cleverly used an unproven conspiracy theory claiming that 36 cities are switching to a monetary system based on a monetary concept of a U.S. currency backed by agricultural production of American farmers. The concept was invented by Thomas A. Edison in 1922.   

Many cities in the US have vendors now accepting Bitcoin for payment. So far, this is just another form of payment, such as cash, check, money order Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover.  In Newport Beach, California a Tesla automobile was purchased by a new owner using Bitcoin.  This according to a December 13, 2013 articleby Money Morning.  Other well vendors are jumping on the band wagon as well.   We found a notice on the website of the online electronics vendor > that said Tiger Direct is now accepting Bitcoin.

Warren Buffett quote but is it an endorsement for Bitcoin?
A quote was found on top the Money Mappers page by Berkshire Hathaway’s Chairman Warren Buffett. The quote said, “People are right to fear paper money.”
 
Such a quote may lend credibility to Money Map Press but it may not be a legitimate endorsement by Buffett, who on more than one occasion warned people to steer clear of Bitcoin.

Another financial website, who may be partnered with Money Map Press, Money Morning posted a March 17, 2014 article that said Warren Buffett, warned against investing in Bitcoin and called it a “mirage.”   Buffett appeared on CNBC on March 14, 2014 and said, “Are checks worth a whole lot of money just because they can transmit money? Are money orders? The idea that [Bitcoin] has some huge intrinsic value is just a joke in my view.”

Bitcoin is beginning to be recognized by cities and states, according to a January 27, 2014 article by Bloomberg that said New York and California are “preparing to write rules of the road for entrepreneurs driving a surge of interest in Bitcoin.”  

Is Bitcoin a modern day version of Edison’s monetary concept?
Edison’s monetary concept has nothing to do with the Internet but it may have inspired Bitcoin, according to an “infographic” posted on the Top Computer Science Degrees website.

TruthOrFiction.com found a paper published on the website of the University of Washington in Seattle about the Edison proposal “that U.S. currency should be backed by the agricultural production of American farmers.”

TruthorFiction.com is investigating this further and will post findings on this page when we get them.

Posted 03/18/14