PPCoin getting some coverage (along with Litecoin & Bitcoin) in a recent article in the MIT Technology Review:

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/513661/bitcoin-isnt-the-only-cryptocurrency-in-town/

I think there are differing degrees to which an asset can be used for exchange. Something like gold can be exchanged between individuals and institutions, but it's not that convenient for small, day-to-day transactions. Clearly bitcoin needs to be exchangeable to have value, but it doesn't need to be the end-all solution for every split-second nanopayment to have value.

Greetings,

I've been familiar with bitcoin since earlier this year and have purchased and sold btc and other alts.
I'm doing a whitelist request now because I recently became aware of a technical issue with one of the networks that should be brought to the attention of devs in a timely manner. Thus, I need access to the "alternate cryptocurrency" forum or the ability to send a PM. Thanks for considering my request.

This is an interesting discussion. However, realistically speaking, bitcoins seem to be more useful as a store of value rather than as a medium of exchange. Perhaps bitcoin's utility in the future will be like that of gold--good for storing value or backing other currencies, but not so good for buying things.

The price rise of Ripple relative to bitcoin may have been caused by recent news that they closed the round of angel VC. It hasn't really gone up much (yet) versus USD. What are the prospects of Ripple going forward? That's the $64 million question.

The price drop over the last couple of days was nothing compared to what happened earlier in bitcoin's history when it went from 30-ish to around 2. If bitcoin can survive a 93.33% price drop, it can survive going from 260 to 55...

Hi, another newbie here. This is only my second post. It's been quite a ride for bitcoin the past few days. Exciting times, these are.

Is the newbie restriction on sending private messages also lifted after 4 hrs & 5 posts?