E-gold is a privately issued digital currency backed by real gold and silver stored in banks in Europe and Dubai.

FORBES: Bitcoin Prevents Monetary Tyranny

Jackson says about 1, 000 new e-gold accounts are opened daily, and the system processes between 50, 000 and 100, 000 transactions a day.

FORBES: Bitcoin Prevents Monetary Tyranny

Instead, criminals are often using virtual currencies like the Russian service Web Money and, until its founder was indicted last year, E-Gold.

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