Just want to put this out there on the record.
The results will be decided on August 1, let's wait together, however, one thing is certain, BU will not be recognized. Segwit and core will be the only two options.
did i miss something? segwit IS core, isn't it?
SegWit is developed by Core and is their solution, yes.
The results will be decided on August 1
To be honest I don't expect BIP 148 to get far. For now it's stuck with a negligible amount of hashrate which would end up making it near worthless when a split happens.
I'm thinking the
real solution will be a better UASF a while later, or a compromise involving SegWit + 2mb implemented by Core.
If neither of those things happen, we might end up with a half-hearted attempt to implement LN on the current Bitcoin, and a pathetic display leading to a slow takeover from alts.
The question you should be making yourself is: are all those alts attempting to takeover Bitcoin really decentralized?
ETH - no.
ETC - yes.
Litecoin - yes.
Monero - yes.
Tertiary alts (e.g. Byteball) - yes, unless they're built on the Ethereum network or they're too small to be properly decentralised (or they're shitcoins with a huge premine/instamine).
are they really a replacement for what Bitcoin has to offer?
No, but they can be. ETH for example is not digital cash, but it can act in that way. However, ETH is unusual because the fees aren't actually all that low after the surge in price.
Or do they easily scale and implement changes because they are centralized?
They easily scale and implement changes because they are small. Some can either be temporarily more centralised (but could become decentralised as they grow), or they can just find it easier to cooperate in a smaller community where less big money is involved. ETH and Ripple are exceptions to this, and they're centralised.
To dismiss altcoins as useless is basically ignorance, because even when being newly created they can develop innovations, so it doesn't necessarily mean that they're mutable.
I'd say Bitcoin will still be quite relevant when no scaling is implemented, but it would be a half-hearted attempt at relevance and would mainly be propped up by HODLers and people "diversifying" their cryptocurrency portfolio into several coins.