In the long run, bitcoin will be worth $0.

[johnyj]

In the long run, we are all dead...

[bitleif]

To me, the differences between bitcoin and litecoin seem superficial. They have a different number of total coins, but that just affects the exchange rate, you just divide by a different number when converting a price from USD to BTC/LTC. The blocks come faster, but you need to wait for more blocks to get the same confirmational surety, so you end up waiting just as long anyway. The difference in algorithm is no difference to me, since that is all under the hood so to speak, until one or the other is cracked they are the same to a user.

That's my impression too, no real benefit to litecoin over BTC propper. It's great to keep alternative networks and technologies alive though as redundancy. But I can see merchants and services wanting to standardize around one network eventually, and right now that looks to be bitcoin.

[BTC-Market]

There's 4 threads on the Spec forum by NikolaTesla, each one is FUD.

Just a few days ago he made a thread complaining about how people who get out spam the forum with FUD. Now I guess he sold his position at a bad spot.

I guess the more shit-slinging there is in the speculation forum, the more people are desperate to buy back in.

Each one except for this one. Saying something is FUD doesn't make it so. I can't see how bitcoin wont be outgrown at some point.

Same could be said of many currencies and tickers. The question is "when". We do live in an ever-changing world after all. So yes, this thread is textbook FUD because OP wants a cheaper buy-in after having sold at 135.

[Homebrewman]

This guy flip flops more than Mitt Romney!  Amirite?

[XXthetimeisnowXX]

This guy flip flops more than Mitt Romney!  Amirite?

hahaha love this!!

[bitcon]

minidisks were way better than CD's. i wish that technology would have beat Compact Disks, then i wouldnt have so many scratched CDs.  But any type of cryptocurrency officially released by the govt/banks will be so regulated and taxed that people will realize the benefits of bitcoin.

OP ignored.

[pyromaniac]

In the long run, we are all dead...

I confirm that. But when - that's the question! Useless clones are made specially for killing bitcoin. So, if we will not use them, they  just disappear without any harm to bitcoin. Dont use new alt coins!
P.S. Someone has invested too much of money into BTC to lose them. And he/they will not give up without fight.

[drnick]

If there is anything that working in the technology industry has taught me it's that successful technologies are rarely without huge design flaws or weaknesses. In fact, those flaws and weakness often foster an eco-system of early adopters and businesses that develop to services and products to "fix" things and this in itself has a powerful viral/network effect. For example, look at the Bitcoin services offered to merchants.

Don't get me wrong Bitcoin's future is far from certain and has a high chance of failure, but don't under-estimate the ingenuity of people to work around the problems we see today, especially when motivated by sizeable financial opportunities that simply don't exist in the alternatives right now.

I totally agree. I initially had some apprehensions about bitcoin because of it's potential flaws and the endless possibilities for creating new currencies. But, the community around bitcoin has significant investments into it, and any flaws with real threats to bitcoins existence will be addressed quickly by all the miners and developers who have a vested interest.

Anyone creating an alternative currency will have their own vested interest. If it's the government, it will work in favor for the government. If it's a business or individual, it will work in favor for them. So what motive does anyone have to adopt them vs bitcoin?

If it's someone truly altruistic who just wants to make the world's fairest alt. coin, he will have a hard time finding supporters and in particular evangelists where there is nothing in it for them.

[mmortal03]

Sure, they'll still be collected as vintage items for their sentimental value the way old NES games are still collected. But mining them will be easy enough that they'll have no real value.

How would that be, given that mining becomes more and more difficult over time by design?

[bitcon]

Sure, they'll still be collected as vintage items for their sentimental value the way old NES games are still collected. But mining them will be easy enough that they'll have no real value.

How would that be, given that mining becomes more and more difficult over time by design?

less ppl mining = difficulty drops

[Sitarow]

Betamax was a superior technology than VHS

Really?

Could record your shows longer? No.
Devices were cheaper? No.
Had more shows to watch? No.

Guess the only thing going for it was a few extra lines of resolution... Hmm.

4-6 hour TV recording won that battle with the common user.

If its easy to use and adopt,
If it is accepted "everywhere" for trade,
and if it serves a common need to the majority of prospective adopters.

Then it wins.

As far as bitcoin vs litecoin speculative value just remember that the customers adopters perspective becomes the reality.

[tonto]

Betamax was a superior technology than VHS but it never took off

+1

it's all about adoption and what is a standard. I don't see the media talking about litecoin do ya?
Not always the best makes it to the most adopted.
I think bitcoin will have upgrades to make it lightweight and more efficient, hell I even think that a branch of bitcoin maybe something like bitcoinX/bitcoin 2.0 whatever you want to call it will take over and people will be able to transform their old bitcoins to the new version of the coins for free or something.

But litecoin *isn't* better.  It's faster, but in this case it's not better.  It's also going to have more coins, which devalues each one, and it was only created because someone missed the gravy train of early bitcoin mining and they wanted to try to get rich.

At least namecoin had another intended purpose that was interesting in concept.

[ElectricMucus]

Bitcoin will become obsolete once there is a cryptocurrency which does exhibit the following properties:

• the possibility for split-second confirmed transactions
• logarithmic growth of storage space and network bandwidth for transaction data (Bitcoin is linear to exponential)
• a significant fraction of computation consists of useful work

I know the former two can be solved, only the latter one would require some new innovation.

[BIGMERVE]

Bitcoin will become obsolete once there is a cryptocurrency which does exhibit the following properties:

• the possibility for split-second confirmed transactions
• logarithmic growth of storage space and network bandwidth for transaction data (Bitcoin is linear to exponential)
• a significant fraction of Network computation consists of useful work

I know the former two can be solved, only the latter one would require some new innovation.

By the time this is even possible bitcoin will be a mainstream currency. At that point there will be no reason to switch over.

[ElectricMucus]

Bitcoin will become obsolete once there is a cryptocurrency which does exhibit the following properties:

• the possibility for split-second confirmed transactions
• logarithmic growth of storage space and network bandwidth for transaction data (Bitcoin is linear to exponential)
• a significant fraction of Network computation consists of useful work

I know the former two can be solved, only the latter one would require some new innovation.

By the time this is even possible bitcoin will be a mainstream currency. At that point there will be no reason to switch over.

too big to fail?
famous last words.

The demand for these innovations will not simply go away. Even in a scenario where Bitcoin were to have absolute majority such a significant innovation will consume it.

[ocbitcoin]

Over time, as competing currencies show their worth, you can gradually acquire the new currencies using your BTC holdings, which by that time, may be worth several thousand US$ each.

[ElectricMucus]

Over time, as competing currencies show their worth, you can gradually acquire the new currencies using your BTC holdings, which by that time, may be worth several thousand US$ each.

That would imply somebody would actually prefer BTC to a superior competitor.

[noedaRDH]

This isn't intended to be another spam thread, this is real analysis.

Eventually the world will adopt a crypto-currency. That's just where technology is headed and where we are evolving. It won't, however, be bitcoin. Bitcoin was a good experiment while it lasted, but through experimenting with it it's shown its weaknesses, weaknesses that other crypto's have already made headway in correcting, just without wide adoption.

Eventually, a new crypto that isn't currently in existence will be developed by a counsel of cryptographers and industry professionals from silicon valley but more importantly will also be directed by the advice of economists, not just computer scientists. This new crypto will be widely endorsed in silicon valley and will take the world by storm, eventually becoming the exclusive currency of most online retailers and will be known as the internet currency (as if the internet were its on country / economy). As surely as I write this, this will happen, and when it does, all other crypto's including bitcoin will become obsolete. Sure, they'll still be collected as vintage items for their sentimental value the way old NES games are still collected. But mining them will be easy enough that they'll have no real value.

There's nothing "real" about this analysis.

You're assuming that BTC's are the first virtual currency.

They are not.

Any open source program based on the features of Bitcoins will most likely be seen as another clone; no reason to give that clone any time of day due to the existing network effect of Bitcoins.

Any non-open source program will be shunned by those who understand the underlying value of Bitcoins.

[BIGMERVE]

Bitcoin will become obsolete once there is a cryptocurrency which does exhibit the following properties:

• the possibility for split-second confirmed transactions
• logarithmic growth of storage space and network bandwidth for transaction data (Bitcoin is linear to exponential)
• a significant fraction of Network computation consists of useful work

I know the former two can be solved, only the latter one would require some new innovation.

By the time this is even possible bitcoin will be a mainstream currency. At that point there will be no reason to switch over.

too big to fail?
famous last words.

The demand for these innovations will not simply go away. Even in a scenario where Bitcoin were to have absolute majority such a significant innovation will consume it.

The market cap of bitcoin is over a billion dollars and that number will continue to rise. It will be almost impossible for anything to catch up to that unless there is something really special about it. Even then it won't deter most bitcoin users.

[dave111223]

I would think it more likely that Bitcoin evolves little by little, instead of being entirely replaced by an alt. coin.