This is a question that's been dogging commentators on the political scene for years. As we see it, there are good arguments for both sides of the issue.

In one sense, the virtualization of state-issued economies seems to be an irresistible process. It's clear that a people in one country will eventually want to use their own currency and will want to avoid transactions fees when they make payments abroad. The explosion of technologies like Bitcoin only accelerates this trend.

There are arguments against virtualization too though (and we've already touched on some of them). One commonly cited point of friction is tax collection. If people are paid in virtual currencies and goods and services are priced in virtual currencies too, who's going to pay the taxes?

Moreover, if governments aren't able to monitor all transactions, it will become harder for them to exercise control. This could have an impact on social stability, for example. And without control, states probably won't exist for very long. …..

We'll leave you to decide which side of the debate has more merit and whether it's really a threat to the future of the state or not.