If bitcoin becomes "a thing," then it'll be on a newly generated blockchain mined all to hell by a private party or government before being released to the publ

If bitcoin becomes "a thing," then it'll be on a newly generated blockchain mined all to hell by a private party or government before being released to the public. Then you'll trade your cash for approved bitcoin (not using that name either) on that specific blockchain. It can even split out multiple ways (think: one currency per company instead of per country/region). Pay your AT&T bill with AT&T Fun Bucks which have an exchange rate against Apple Awesome Bucks which have an exchange rate with Euros which have an exchange rate with Safeway Safe Way to Pay Coins. The current bitcoin madness is just an experiment in how many ways you can say "THIS PAPER HAS VALUE," sign it, rip it into bits, then make people think each piece is a valuable part of the whole (which had imaginary value in the first place derived only out of scarcity—bitcoin isn't even shiny).