In Neal Stephenson’s new novel Reamde, there is a passing reference (page 33) to an article that the main character once read about virtual currencies. Given that this character is a draft-dodger who lives in British Columbia, chances are pretty good that the article was this one published in The Walrus in the spring of 2004. (And which I linked to on my blog-project Goodreads at the time).

The article in turn references the work of Edward Castronova, whose paper on this subject can be found here.