What's quite interesting in this piece from Krugman is that for the first time I hear hime doubt his previous outright negative stance. He slips in some "clues" how he is actually "not trying to be swayed one way or the other" when everything else I have read or heard from him regarding Bitcoin was entirely negative. Maybe he is just trying to keep the door open in case Bitcoin's success will prove him similarly wrong as his funny predictation in 98 where he mentioned that "the Internet is going to disappear in 2005".

Regarding the Charles Stross article, someone else had written a very good counter-piece just the other day:

http://www.ofnumbers.com/2013/12/18/charles-stross-takes-on-...