Bitcoin will never succeed because [insert problem that can & will be fixed]

[Astrohacker]

This is one of the common criticisms of bitcoin I encounter. "Bitcoin will not succeed, because X," where X is a symptom of the fact that bitcoin is new, and thus will be fixed in time.

e.g.,
* Bitcoin will not succeed because it is driven primarily by speculation.
* Bitcoin will not succeed because the client is hard to use.
* Bitcoin will not succeed because it requires technical knowledge to use.
* Bitcoin will not succeed because there aren't very many bitcoin businesses.

The criticism is flawed, because it is simply the nature of any new thing to have incompleteness and rough edges. In time, these problems will vanish.

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[evoorhees]

Agreed.

I think it stems from the fact that people perceive Bitcoin as a "finished, final product" instead of the evolving open source project that it really is. It'd be like criticizing the first automobile because "it doesn't have a stereo system" or "there are no seatbelts or airbags."

It's the core invention of Bitcoin as a decentralized commodity currency that is revolutionary. The convenience and features that come later will be benefits but their current absence should not be overstated.