Ripple is a threat to BTC

[exapted]

I have heard that Ripple would make a really good decentralized exchange, but I don't think that that's what makes Ripple competitive.

The real reason Ripple has a chance at beating Bitcoin is that banks can be Ripple gateways that refuse to deal in Bitcoin. Most people would prefer Ripple over Bitcoin because their bank would be their exchange and there's no one new to trust. So banks could push Bitcoin out of the mainstream with Ripple.

Building better decentralized exchange systems for Bitcoin does not seem to solve the main problem for Bitcoin, which is that banks refuse to deal in Bitcoin while most people prefer to save money with a bank.