Will Bitcoin survive? Lean more at Economics is Everywhere lecture

Monetary economics expert William J. Luther will speak about Bitcoin's prospects at the Economics is Everywhere lecture series at Radford University.

Luther's talk is scheduled for 7 p.m., March 17, in the 340 multipurpose room in the College of Business and Economics' Kyle Hall. Free refreshments will be available at 6:30 p.m.

Luther is a faculty member in the Department of Economics at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. In addition, he serves as an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute's Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and Financial Alternatives and is a fellow with the Atlas Network's Sound Money Project. 

Luther's research focuses primarily on questions of currency acceptance and the role governments play in determining commonly accepted media of exchange. He has written extensively on Somalia's monetary regime following state collapse in 1991 and the cryptocurrency bitcoin.

"Six years ago, bitcoin was little more than a mere curiosity among techno-utopians, anarcho-capitalists and monetary economists," Luther said. "Today it is commonly the subject of mainstream media reports. What is bitcoin? Why do people accept it? Will bitcoin survive?"

Luther has published articles in leading scholarly journals, including Economic Inquiry, Public Choice and Contemporary Economic Policy. His popular works have appeared in The Economist, Forbes and U.S. News & World Report. Luther's research has been cited by major media outlets, including NPR, VICE News, The Christian Science Monitor and New Scientist.

The Economics is Everywhere program launched at Radford University during the Spring 2015 semester. As part of the initiative, students attend lectures presented by economics experts and participate in a semester-long book club. 

To learn more, contact Thomas Duncan at (540) 831-6057 or tduncan13@radford.edu.