That's a really good article.One of the best I have read the last several weeks.
One comment got it completely!
Significantly, the final paragraph of this article sums up why bitcoin is so relevant and important -
"The real innovation is not the digital coins themselves, but the trust machine that mints them — and which promises much more besides"
ie, if you are attempting to create a "blockchain" without the backing of a globally accepted, tradeable, verification mechanism by PoW token ( of which the only one to date is the bitcoin blockchain ) then you can never have a truly "trusted network"