Credit Suisse releases a report on bitcoin

Credit Suisse, a Switzerland-based financial services company, has once again released a report on bitcoin, titled "Bitcoins - Money Without Physical Form".

In the report, the company reiterated its sentiment, saying that bitcoins "could have cost advantages over credit cards or providers such as Western Union when used as a transaction system."

However, when it comes to bitcoin's use as a currency, the views are far more pessimistic. The report said that although bitcoin's decentralized structure is novel, its potential to function as a stable currency is highly unlikely.

"Do bitcoins have the potential to become commonplace and to dislodge the money monopoly from the central banks? The outlook is not good. Even if distribution as a means of payment continues to increase, the system's advantage - decentralization - is also its biggest drawback", it said. "In the end, this confidence is crucial for any currency whose usage extends beyond the exchange of goods."

Moreover, the report raised concerns over the lack of "physical form", in contrast with traditional currencies. This is highly arguable, as physical existence of fiat are coincidental, seldom a matter of convenience. Moreover, most of the financial transactions are defined by the legal parameters decided by the governing authority backing it and exist only as information.