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Bitcoin is a great prototype for something that people will actually want to use. It has some utility, but there are armies of other cryptocurrencies with high

Bitcoin is a great prototype for something that people will actually want to use. It has some utility, but there are armies of other cryptocurrencies with higher utility waiting to be used. It may be that people will still assign value to Bitcoin in a couple of decades, like they do with gold. It may also be that you'll need 100 Bitcoin to buy a pizza.

throwaway2016a 9y ago
> Bitcoin is a great prototype for something that people will actually want to use. I agree so much with this. I tell this to everyone who will listen. Blockchain will be huge and Bitcoin was a pioneer. I think 10 years from now everyone will be using blockchain (either directly or indirectly) it just won't be through Bitcoin.
- placebo 9y ago
  I'll be convinced when I get a satisfying explanation on how blockchain will scale to handle the rate of transactions in a real global economy (while keeping all it's advantages intact)
  - bitcoinusrname1 9y ago
    Lightning network is a superb solution for that scaling. Still, the whole thing is a huge research project. There's no simple and clear solution in sight. Bitcoin isn't just an engineering project.
  - vertex-four 9y ago
    The answer is reasonably simple - a globally-agreed-upon time-ordered database can act as an anti-cheating layer for new protocols built on top of it. Lightning Network is a simplistic option, and I reckon there'll be more over time. These protocols may allow nodes to only watch transactions that they're interested in, and participate in a blockchain only indirectly - storing or even hearing about the whole chain becomes unnecessary for most nodes. I do hope that proof-of-stake or a similar system come into being trustworthy systems, however, to decouple the security of a blockchain from its energy usage.
- konschubert 9y ago
  It's not about the blockchain even. It's about using cryptography to create something that's scarce and tradeable and hopefully decentralized - a cryptocurrency.
bitcoinusrname1 9y ago
There are no currencies currently capable of scaling, and practically all are riding the huge research wave that's there because of Bitcoin. Yes, Bitcoin is still early stage tech and these valuations are a bubble, but it's probably going to be the technology to win in the end.
mamon 9y ago
Expecially now that some countries are considering introducing their own cryptocurrency (I heard rumors about China).
- otp124 9y ago
  > (I heard rumors about China) Let's not spread rumors here...

throwaway2016a 9y ago

> Bitcoin is a great prototype for something that people will actually want to use. I agree so much with this. I tell this to everyone who will listen. Blockchain will be huge and Bitcoin was a pioneer. I think 10 years from now everyone will be using blockchain (either directly or indirectly) it just won't be through Bitcoin.

placebo 9y ago
I'll be convinced when I get a satisfying explanation on how blockchain will scale to handle the rate of transactions in a real global economy (while keeping all it's advantages intact)
- bitcoinusrname1 9y ago
  Lightning network is a superb solution for that scaling. Still, the whole thing is a huge research project. There's no simple and clear solution in sight. Bitcoin isn't just an engineering project.
- vertex-four 9y ago
  The answer is reasonably simple - a globally-agreed-upon time-ordered database can act as an anti-cheating layer for new protocols built on top of it. Lightning Network is a simplistic option, and I reckon there'll be more over time. These protocols may allow nodes to only watch transactions that they're interested in, and participate in a blockchain only indirectly - storing or even hearing about the whole chain becomes unnecessary for most nodes. I do hope that proof-of-stake or a similar system come into being trustworthy systems, however, to decouple the security of a blockchain from its energy usage.
konschubert 9y ago
It's not about the blockchain even. It's about using cryptography to create something that's scarce and tradeable and hopefully decentralized - a cryptocurrency.

bitcoinusrname1 9y ago

There are no currencies currently capable of scaling, and practically all are riding the huge research wave that's there because of Bitcoin. Yes, Bitcoin is still early stage tech and these valuations are a bubble, but it's probably going to be the technology to win in the end.

mamon 9y ago

Expecially now that some countries are considering introducing their own cryptocurrency (I heard rumors about China).

otp124 9y ago
> (I heard rumors about China) Let's not spread rumors here...