i don't see how, in theory, the points brought against bitcoin differ from potential vulnerabilities of traditional currencies. they all suffer from the same pr

i don't see how, in theory, the points brought against bitcoin differ from potential vulnerabilities of traditional currencies. they all suffer from the same problems. > Bitcoin is vastly more volatile than conventional money and relatively few people trust it as a store of value. that could and has happened to a real currency; there were lots of countries that preferred, e.g., dollars or euros to the native currency as soon as this native currency started to tank. > Even if that hurdle [trust] is crossed, how much crypto-currency will people need? Putting it in economic terms, will the demand for Bitcoin have the same velocity as the demand for money? trust would mean, more sellers would accept crypto-currency as payment. the more sellers accept crypto-currency, the more of it people would need. this is purely a question of trust. bitcoin may not be trusted yet, but that's one of the prerequisites for the discussion given earlier in the article. no reason you shouldn't be able to use bitcoin to buy bread at the local store or as down payment for a house. > Will there be the same number of hoarders? i don't really understand this point - but even if it was true, that's not an inherent fault of bitcoin. > And what about all the other cryptocurrencies that exist today, and those that will arise in the future? Bitcoin might well be replaced by something different and better, and end up being worth nothing at all. this has happened to lots of traditional currencies. moreover, traditional currencies are subject to counterfeiting (even though it doesn't matter much in practice). --- sure, in practice it's different, as (rich, stable) states have an interest in keeping their currency reasonably stable and can act in certain ways as an informed actor to control/steer their currency in a certain direction. this is the only major difference i see (as long as bitcoin isn't derailed by a hostile actor). but in the end, currencies are worth what actors are willing to pay for it, a principle that applies to both bitcoin and traditional currencies.