A bitcoin alternative will ultimately take over, assuming crypto currencies survive... being able to reverse fraudulent transactions within 24-48 hours would be a good first start,
That's not a currency, that's a payment system.
Please explain how you "reverse fraudulent transactions within 24-48 hours" when you hand someone a $100 bill, or a €20 note?
as would insurance of funds
I suspect that insurance will come along eventually. There are always people/companies willing to take on the risk of others in exchange for a reasonable (or sometimes unreasonable) compensation.
and ease of use.
Bitcoin is a technology protocol. It is still in it's infancy. The internet was just as difficult to use and just as limited to a small subset of the population in the 1980s. Given time to mature, additional layers will be built on top of that protocol to bring interfaces to the masses.
How many people actually use bitcoins? I bet the number is under a half million... a small pool of people still hold a large number of the coins... these people, if they really cared about bitcoin and it's spread, would selflessly donate their coins anonymously in giveaway threads if they have over say 1000 total coins.
No they wouldn't. Giving away something to people who don't understand what they are receiving is wasteful and destructive. Those who believe in and care about the long term success of bitcoin would do exactly what they are already doing. Educating others and investing their time and resources in advancements that improve upon what is currently available.
Also the whole problem of the ever increasing blockchain size...
Has not been demonstrated to be a problem yet. Just how big are the databases of other worldwide accounting systems?
ultimately a currency that terminates blockchain records after 6 months would be more secure
Clearly you don't understand what problems bitcoin solves or how it solves them. Perhaps you should try reading the "Satoshi Whitepaper" before you try to pass judgement on something that you clearly don't even understand.
What's the point of holding every transaction record that ever existed forever?
Among other things it allows any node to verify the source of any payment without needing to trust any centralized entity.
I suppose you need this info in order to maintain information in bitcoin addresses I'm assuming?
Instead of "assuming" and then passing judgement on your own assumptions, try learning, and then passing judgement on actual facts.
Right now, with fees, it simply costs more to use bitcoins...
This is clearly not true in all cases.
vendors that do take it tend to inflate prices, and exchanges that do business charge transaction fees.
It is possible to acquire bitcoin without using exchanges (note that mainstream exchanges that allow you to exchange one currency for another ALSO charge transaction fees, but you conveniently ignore this when complaining about the bitcoin exchange fees). There are vendors that offer lower prices for bitcoin payment.
Right now I can store cash in a bank for no fee.
Someone is paying for that. Usually it is you with lots of "hidden" charges (such as ATM fees, dormant account fees, purchase of checks, statement fees, teller fees, excessive use fees, insufficient use fees). In addition if you pay with a debit card, the bank charges the merchant a fee, and the merchant needs to make sure they are profitable, so they simply increase the cost of everything they sell. In this way you are indirectly paying your bank through the purchases you make.
I hope it works out, but right now it's still very much the 'wild west'
Definitely it is!
