Bitcoin Forum

What make bitcoins different from all other cryptocurrencies of the past?

You would need to be more specific, I would think.  What other cryptocurrencies would you be referring to?

I am not aware of any other cryptocurrencies that got beyond the planning stages.

I am pretty sure Bitcoin is the first full implementation of the distributed authority model.

The mining/generation/confirmation sure seems unique to me too.

I guess the two are kinda intertwined.

Which cryptocurrencies of the past?

What lfm said.

All others that come to mind are centralized -- Liberty Reserve, Pecunix, e-gold, etc.  They're  not very crypto, either.  Well, e-gold tried, but went down hard.

Then there's the Global Settlement Foundation, which has a much broader agenda, and Loom, which is basically a truly humongous spreadsheet.  There could be interesting synergies, IMHO.

I see several Looms on Google, but none that make sense in this context. URL?

I want to add the concept craighto mentioned. LETS. Local exchange trading system.

Bitcoins differs from LETS in several ways but it is similar in other important ways. One very important similarity is both currencies are virtual and created/backed only by the  shared participation of a voluntary, self selected, community.

edit ----

This is from wikipedia but I think people will see the parallels with bitcoin.

"A number of people have problems adjusting to the different ways of operating using a LETSystem. A conventional national currency is generally hard to earn but easy to spend. To date LETSystems are comparatively easy to earn but harder to spend. The success of a LETSystem is therefore determined by the ease with which a person can spend their LETS credits, and improve their quality of life by participation. Placing difficult arrangements or unreasonable service fees in the way of LETS members will produce difficulties in the future."

I read about Loom at loom.cc.  First, it's by invitation only, so it's an online  barter club, really.  Second, Loom isn't really a currency.  It's like trading in digital titles or digital 'shares' of real assests.  An individual can 'create' a currency within Loom, but Loom itself is not a currency system but only a slick online form of secure barter.  A member can create crypto-titles to assets, such as a car or a bushel of wheat, and trade them online, as a form of contract barter.  It is very different, in practice and in intent, from Bitcoin.

More complementary than competition.

Indeed.  One could trade Bitcoin on Loom, for example.  And perhaps, some day, one could pay "Loom rent" with Bitcoins.

I gather that the GSM considers only gold and other precious metals to be legitimate currencies.  To the extent that Bitcoin can fulfill on its potential to be a secure virtual "precious metal", it might be useful to them.  That's just my opinion as a bystander, BTW  :)

What is the GSM?

GSM = Global Settlement Foundation.

I DO NOT intend to open a discussion about that here, BTW.  And I do believe that the Bitcoin community should be familiar with their work (and vice versa).

I can't say that I'm familiar with them, but I soon will be.


EDIT: It's interesting, and I would call the project well intended, but I don't have faith that a return to hard money in any form is likely to occur within my lifetime.  In fact, I hope that it does not, because that would imply a dystopian future such as depicted in "A World Made by Hand".

Hard money plus Loom is what's interesting, IMHO.  Bitcoin is far more elegant, however, and far easier to store.

What I found refreshing about Bitcoins was having a digital currency that didn't rely upon a central authority either for issuing the money in the first place or in terms of the record keeping of the transactions themselves.  I've seen digital currency suggestions in the past, but Bitcoins resolves these issues in a very elegant fashion.  Even the developers really don't have much control over the currency itself other than to be tweaking the "rules" that govern the project... and at this point it is only minor tweaks that can happen, not major shifts in policy.  An arbitrary change that gives 1m BTC to Satochi is only going to cause a fork in the project and certainly won't be recognized by the majority of the participants on this project... to give an example.

The fact that Bitcoins can't be used as a fractional reserve currency is something interesting too.  That is something which has been debated on many other threads, but it is something worthy of mention.  Yes, reserve banking can happen with Bitcoins, but that isn't the same thing and anybody "lending" bitcoins must have obtained them or have "depositors" first that have given them to the "bank".

I particularly love the egalitarian method of initial coin allocation with bitcoins, where even people who show up later can be a part of the "land rush" of creating new coins but at the same time such efforts to generate new coins don't necessarily overwhelm the currency as a whole in a destabilizing fashion.  One other side benefit is that it generally keeps no single person from having a majority of the currency, or even a controlling position within the currency except through "making a better mousetrap" and convincing bitcoin users to send them those coins in the first place.  A deliberate act is needed where people give you the coins in exchange for something of value (or for them to think you are a good charitable cause).

Bitcoin is different from the digital currency that had existed before since Bitcoin is fully decentralized. So there is no centrality in Bitcoin, there is no person in charge like the US against the Dolarnya, or RI against the Rupiah.

Bitcoin does not print like Fiat currency by the central bank. Bitcoin is produced by volunteers who maintain the Bitcoin network ecosystem through a process called the "mining / mining" term. While in the mining process, is actually a process of verifying the overall transaction Bitcoin.

bitcoin being the first does matter more than most people realize...It has proven itself for YEARS. It is secure and robust. why would I keep the majority of my crypto wealth in any other crypto that is not secure and robust like bitcoin? all altcoins are "guilty until proven innocent" and it will take years before people start trusting the security and stability of another blockchain more than the bitcoin blockchain. not 1 year, but multiple years.

Which past?
Bitcoin is the first in all the coins that exist today, and Bitcoin is clearly different from fiat currencies and all its competitors, because Bitcoin is a replacement for future paper money that we will use as a means of digital payment transactions.
And for the issue of Bitcoin's competitors, Bitcoin will remain the first in the digital currency and always be at the forefront for us to use.

How Bitcoin Works in 5 Minutes (Technical) - a tiny 5 and half a minute long video - might help you to know why bitcoin is different.

The money we are spending the most on today is the paper money. Paper money has many advantages but there are still some disadvantages such as inflation, price devaluation, cost and time of large foreign transactions ... This requires a new currency with advantages over They are more likely to overcome these limitations. And forecoding is the next step in the development of currency.
In the explosion of the 4.0 revolution, Blockchain is expected to be the key technology for converting digital technology and is a big step forward in building and developing technology platforms in the future. This is the technology behind and makes the Bitcoin value

well, Bitcoin is the mother of all crypto-currencies. It is in the market-cap. Its value, security, acceptance, popularity, easy transaction, low transaction fee and many more things which make bitcoin difference from all crypto-currencies. 

Can you specify what kind of crypto currency are there in the past? For you to know bitcoin is the first crypto currency that was made successful and if you want to campare it from the past then I think that would be crazy.

I think the different of bitcoin to other cryptocurrencies is that it is the father of all the currencies because bitcoin is the one who discovered first by peole. Bitcoin also proven in many worker that is now rich and successful.

I think bitcoins make use of system decentralisation. Purchasing is easy. Confidentiality to wake. Transparent  and transmission bitcoins the fast.

bitcoin is the main coin
it has the highest price reach as far as i know.
people are neutral about bitcoin .
because people still debate that bitcoin is a bubble.
but bitcoin is special because i know bitcoin will survive in the future than other coins .
because we all still trust bitcoin

I always thought that bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency in the world. Perhaps you have other knowledge about this. If so, please tell us in more detail.

The Bitcoin and Value of us The bitcoin low than us dollar the us dollar higher than bitcoin
bitcoin is most powerful in coins ph

Well I don't there's any past crypto before btc though. When youbtalk about cryptocurrencies, bitcoin is face of that market. Though other alts may have better features than btc, the fact that it started it all still makes it the top coin for most users. And it's a bubble alright. And it popped several times already only to inflate again afterwards.

Bitcoin is different from fiat and other cryptocurrency because is the only virtual currency accepted by all and it is not controlled by any authority.

Can you please specify what kind of crypto currency are their in the past that was made first before bitcoin was made. Because as I know bitcoin is the first crypto currency that is made successful. Correct me if Im wrong.

What do you expecting from bitcoin ? Bitcoin is common like all other crypto currencies and still in the top rated and most popular crypto itself that's the most special thing that make different from all other cryptos.

I see the content here is all crypto in essence under the same technology, that is blockchain. where all transactions are recorded in the ledger and transparent. only that makes it different is the bitcoin price is so high than other crypto.

The thing is Bitcoin is unique in their transaction records and security system, the value of it is also a big factor to its demand, given the fact that bitcoin is known in the world, there is so much to it.

I think it is not just about the bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency or whatever because still a lot of alternative cryptocurrency in the market and still the bitcoin have the highest price value in the market so in my opinion the popularity of bitcoin makes it to the top i can conclude that the system of the bitcoin and how its work really matters in the severals years we have ethereum but even we saidd that ethereum is better than bitcoin we never see ethereum have a chance against bitcoin when its comes to market value.

I think the differences of bitcoin compare with other coins is its value.
Bitcoin have the greatest value amongst all coins and the supply of bitcoin is very low compare with other coins

What cryptocurrency is there with the past cryptocurrency?

If you refer to BTC, then I would say market dominance and a strong network effect - although it is on a declining trend due to a deliberate attempt to prevent it from scaling on the Bitcoin system. They had to destroy it by bringing in Segwit and push for scaling off the Bitcoin system via the Lightning Network (LN). In effect, bringing something into play that will at the end of the day be like the existing fiat-based monetary system on the blockchain controlled and owned by the same people who started that Ponzi scheme.

It is predicted that BTC, in reference to "Bitcoin Core", will be at $0 come 2019-2020. Not by accident, but by design. Bitcoin was originally created and designed to serve the masses - not a powerful few. This is why the real Bitcoin at this stage, namely Bitcoin Cash (BCH), is expected to prevail at the end of the day. That being said, there are various other cryptocurrencies that can come out at the top. Competition is good as long as the masses benefit at the end of the day.

P.S. "Bitcoin" IOUs offered via LN should not be confused with real Bitcoins. ;)

What Makes Bitcoin Different? which makes Bitcoin different from other investments.
1. not affected by bank interest rate.
2. not affected by one country.
3. and we can control everything for our bitcoin.
4. and is the only virtual currency accepted by all parties and is not controlled by any authority. maybe that's my explanation about bitcoin excess.

the odds are that they have since the bitcoin continues to remain intact until even when it drops because bitcoin is just the first known so I know that until now it is still the people.

Bitcoin is the first digital currency in the world,most of the peoples dont now about crypto currency but they know about bitcoin, that is main difference with other coins because Bitcoin has great support from all over the world, its market cap is very important, and bitcoin supply is limited so the price of bitcoin will go to moon soon, many countries may be accept bitcoin as payment option, dont know what will happens next couple of years, wait and see

From your statement that you think bitcoin is a new cryptocurrency right ?
But you're wrong, bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency and also the first blockchain payment system.
If you compared it too other currencies "after" bitcoin, it depends on what coin you compared, there are many different.
But the most important thing that bitcoin is mother of all crypto and it has biggest marketcap.

it seems that makes bitcoin different from some other coin because I see bitcoin has a very limited total supply and bitcoin also has very good and many developments that make bitcoin different from some other coin.

bitcoin is an old cryptocurrency and is now the largest cryptocurrency.
so uka there is another coin you compare with bitcoin. I think you are wrong because all the coin prices depend on the bitcoin price.

Bitcoin is a digital currency which make it different from real currency. Bitcoin is the decentralised digital currency which means it is doesn't under control of any government. Which also make if different from physical currency. Bitcoin is accepted in many country and its price is also higher than other crypto currency make it different from all other crypto currency. Bitcoin Blockchain technology make it more popular and different from other. Bitcoin's money transaction process is different from real money transaction.  ;)

The advantages of bitcoin according to ane are more credible than cryptocurrency first and most popular up to now, but if compared to other virtual currencies cryptocurrency type also in terms of transaction speed and cost per transaction cost it must be admitted they are superior, and bitcoin lost in this sector. But which other Cryptocurrency does not have on bitcoin appeal all prices use benchmark bitcoin first to other fiat currencies like USD EUR and others.

I think Bitcoin is different from other cryptocurrencies Bitcoin has been tested with stability blockchain and is the most supported network by miner in the world so bitcoin network is not possible to die. Bitcoin is also the benchmark standard of exchange rate against other alt coin that appear later, so bitcoin similar to USD in fiat money which is the benchmark of world currency exchange rates.
this is one of the factors that make crypto coin enthusiasts prefer bitcoin. Then the supply of bitcoin is limited, so it can provide better price support in the future as more and more demand. From some point then bitcoin deserve to be the best investment asset in the future.

The digital currencies that appeared after bitcoin are called altcoins. They are based on the same algorithms as bitcoin. They differ by changes in the algorithm of encryption or organization of mining: the creation of a new unit depends not on the power of the computer, but on the number of coins in the purse of the miner.

Bitcoin is different from the other coins because of its robust nature. It's been able to maintain its value till now and even into the future.

the different of  bitcoin to other is quality and also in road mapping :) btc is not for an a crypto but it is an money that can use any time or any where and time to pay:D

In my views, bitcoin is different with the other cryptocurrencies since this is the first ever crypto currency to become more popular and the most invested currency in the crypto world. It is the only cryptocurrency ever to reach nearly $20k USD in the last quarter of 2017 where no other cryptocurrency had able to achieved such an achievement. With this currency alone, many had able to become rich and millionaires especially for those whom had invested this coin much earlier than us.

It has a lot of features that make it different from others but I think that the main one is that it is the most wanted and popular one, it is considered the most powerful coin and the one having great future forecasts

I think that bitcoin is different from other cryptocurrency since this not not just a currency for investment but also it is a payment system where they can use this currency in paying through online payments. This is the only cryptocurrency being mined by the crypto miners and the only crypto currency ever to reached the highest price ever in the history of crypto currency at $20K of Q4 of 2017.

Bitcoin differences from other currency are the uses of it, like we can use bitcoin to pay bills, online payments and can easily send and buy than other currency that we need to trade first and convert to bitcoin or ethereum before we use in many transaction.

indeed bitcoin has a very different blockchain technology with other altcoins, and bitcoin can be trusted to make transactions, although the transaction costs are slightly higher than using other altcoins, but I think for safety is much more reliable, it's probably one of the different bitcoin with altcoin , and bitcoin are well suited for long-term investments, and that will give many people the advantage, bitcoin in addition to high prices than other altcoins, bitcoin is also the first crypto money.

Bitcoin was really active and its have a popularity to invest ,because its price was increase and increase year by year and also the difference between bitcoin and other ,is bitcoin has a own blockchain and its really fast to use and as i said many people now was using it to earn and be altenrnative bank.

Bitcoin is so attractive compared to other altcoins. Bitcoin already has a very good market share and also already has enthusiasts so we can easily make transactions with bitcoin, it means there will be a lot of places that can receive payments via Bitcoin. Look at the current Bitcoin price, the price is incredible and can be said as a currency and a very penomenal asset.

Because it is the first cryptocurrency so people may prefer bitcoin than other coins.
Moreover, the developers are really good, always work hard to improve it.

I think that the advantage of bitcoin is not only that he was the first, but that behind his creation there is not one mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto but a whole team of talented and influential people who promoted and promoted their coins.