Because large financial institutions are bailed out by governments when they fail, they receive a subsidy from taxpayers. How valuable is this too-big-to-fail subsidy to large financial institutions? Click here for an IMF study which suggests that it is substantial. Mark Roe has an opinion piece at Project Syndicate which also suggests that big banks enjoy a large subsidy from the taxpayer.
According to Robert Shiller , speaking at Davos, Bitcoin is a perfect example of a bubble - story here . Shiller sees Bitcoin as a backwards step in the evolution of money. George Selgin , a free banker, takes an opposing view - click here . Although he doesn't believe that Bitcoin is money, he sees its development as a fascinating turn in the evolution of money. In particular, he lauds the fact that Bitcoin production is constrained and cannot be infinite. There is a short video below where Bitcoin explain how it works.