What's to stop a 'Bitcoin 2' taking over...

[thegoatiest]

Hello,
First up - I know this sounds a bit like FUD.. I suppose it is - but it's my own fud and my ponderings about what may happen in the future.

I don't know much about the blockchain technology behind bitcoin to be honest.
However I have heard it is not without it's flaws - I've heard scaling and transaction speed to be two things. (The lightning network is going to speed things up i gather?)

Seeing as Bitcoin was the first it'll always have that, and it is being updated with things like the lightning network and will likely receive many more updates over time, keeping it's edge.
But what is to stop another 'gold/value storage' coin with better technology than bitcoin taking over.?
Most answers I assume will entail: 1) it was the first 2) lots of people believe in it 3) limited supply cap.

Now 1 and 2 I have faith in. They stand to reason.
But number 3 - is not such a good argument in my opinion.
As - I could create a value storage coin with only 10 million maximum circulation, thus trumping bitcoin as a coin of value with inherent rarity.
To top that It could have modern improvements that some of the other altcoins have these days - instant transactions and better scaling (no idea what that is btw) e.t.c.
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This has been bothering me for some time. I'm not sure if it should. Looking forward to hearing a few opinions on this.
TG

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[gentlemand]

Right now there are thousands of coins with supply levels that are - lower, higher, sexier, more trans, more hetero, more bi curious.

No one cares about them. No one will care about your 10 milcoin either.

The only thing that gives BTC value is agreement that it's worth something. It's had ten years to build that trust. That can't be replicated, faked or bought.

More people agree about it than any other coin. More people agree to agree every single day. The larger the number of agreements the ever less likely people will agree about any other coin. Every agreement is a brick in a foundation. BTC winds up with foundations a mile wide and mile deep. A supposed usurper will have foundations consisting of one straw sticking out the dirt.

10milcoin is just another bunch of worthless code. 10 million of worthlessness is of no use to me. If people stopped agreeing about Bitcoin that would be nothing other than worthless code too.

Code is infinite. Trust and consensus is very definitely not.

[DooMAD]

People sometimes underestimate the power of network effects.  Not only is Bitcoin the cryptocurrency most people have heard of and the one that is most likely to be accepted by any retailers who accept cryptocurrency in return for their services, but it's also the one that has the most utility, simply because of the fact that it has loads of users.  The more users it has, the more people you can transact with, the more useful it is overall.  Simply cloning Bitcoin and changing random bits here and there is no match for the network effects Bitcoin has amassed through years of actual usage.

People worry that scaling is an issue that might cause people to leave Bitcoin in favour of other coins due to Bitcoin having higher fees or slower transactions.  But the reason Bitcoin might be more expensive or slower than other coins is precisely because people are trying to use it, because of the advantages Bitcoin offers them.  If other coins had as many users as Bitcoin, their fees would likely be higher too.  If those other chains want to have greater throughput to allow a greater number of transactions on-chain to support more users, there are trade-offs and compromises you generally have to make to achieve that.  Increasing throughput in POW coins tends to come at the expense of security or decentralisation (or both, even).  These are generally considered important qualities to preserve.

Other coins are readily making compromises in security and decentralisation because they think it will attract more users, but I'm personally not worried.  I know it's something each person is going to decide for themselves and market competition will do what it does naturally.  At the end of the day, it's very much a case of "you get what you pay for" when it comes to this stuff.  If altcoins have cheaper fees, it's generally because there are fewer users, weaker security or the network is more centralised than Bitcoin is (or any combination of those downsides).  

[Tamilson]

Right now there are thousands of coins with supply levels that are - lower, higher, sexier, more trans, more hetero, more bi curious.

No one cares about them. No one will care about your 10 milcoin either. 

Well I guess, bitcoin is bitcoin, whatever people has to say neither to create new coin that they think that will surpass it. Look at those altcoins claiming that they're much faster and cheaper trnx fee, where are they? Do they surpass? Even it will take them 10 years they won't reach even 20% of what bitcoin had immense.

It's funny people had their mind set that if they replicate bitcoin or even exceed it, they thought what happened to bitcoin can actually happen to them, but it's not and definitely never be.

[riritsurya1202]

As far as I know, there are 'Bitcoin 2' already existed and trying to get 1% share of Bitcoin market cap. Your hunch is right, the low supply is definitely not the best argument and to be honest I also don't think people see it more important as number 1 or 2. I believe strong community, its familiarity to the average joe, lots of support from traditional institutions such as ETF etc are several factors why Bitcoin will stay. See what happen with BCH or BTG, or other forked Bitcoin result in general? They don't get the same exposure as Bitcoin.

[BuyBuyBitcoin]

I don't know much about the blockchain technology behind bitcoin to be honest.
However I have heard it is not without it's flaws - I've heard scaling and transaction speed to be two things. (The lightning network is going to speed things up i gather?)

Lightning is one of many 2nd layer solutions being used for payments with bitcoin. There will be other options and even 3rd layer solutions for payments over the next few years.

Seeing as Bitcoin was the first it'll always have that, and it is being updated with things like the lightning network and will likely receive many more updates over time, keeping it's edge.
But what is to stop another 'gold/value storage' coin with better technology than bitcoin taking over.?
Most answers I assume will entail: 1) it was the first 2) lots of people believe in it 3) limited supply cap.

Satoshi isnt involved in Bitcoin anymore now is he?

We know a Government wont create "better" bitcoin... why would a development team or a company create a "digital money" and somehow also make it fair for everyone ? That team of developers first need to convince all bitcoin holders it is better and more secure THEN convince people they dont have a motive to create a digital money for their own gains.

The size of a development team and amount of scaling solutions to compete with what bitcoin already has would be too difficult to "compete" with. Just join the "Sound Money" team that is on bitcoin and help that network grow...why would a competitor in money be a valuable spend of time, unless you are trying to create money you can rig....which wont work.

To top that It could have modern improvements that some of the other altcoins have these days - instant transactions and better scaling (no idea what that is btw) e.t.c.

Altcoins exist for OTHER reasons than to be money.



Altcoins that "run projects" like BAT token, could have used Bitcoin as money but they wanted to create a token, control the distribution and sale of that token. That lowers its value to a lot of people who are only interested in "sound money" like bitcoin offers. Nobody is claiming BAT token is like bitcoin but SOME people in altcoin trading threads seem to really believe BAT is like money....its nothing like money though.

[libert19]

There are already coins with better technology than Bitcoin but still people prefer Bitcoin, why? Probably, because when any company looking to integrate crypto, they will add BTC first.

[thegoatiest]

Thanks, that's cleared a lot up for me.
Word does seem to be spreading about bitcoin it's true. Pretty much every stranger I mention bitcoin to seems to know something about it.
All good signs.

[mk4]

First off, you're not "fudding". You're just curious; which is actually a good thing. Rather than being the "bitcoin is going to moon even though I don't know crap about it!" kind of person.

But what is to stop another 'gold/value storage' coin with better technology than bitcoin taking over.?

Nothing. Nothing is stopping a better coin to take over. Though while it's possible, it's definitely unlikely in my opinion; especially in the short-mid term. Bitcoin is simply so far ahead.

As - I could create a value storage coin with only 10 million maximum circulation, thus trumping bitcoin as a coin of value with inherent rarity.

Not because the coin you made is more "limited", it doesn't really make it better. One of the biggest things that makes bitcoin heavily better than most if not all coins, is it's network effect. Bitcoin is one of the most developed cryptocurrencies, and the most adopted. You could also technically create your own version of the dollar, the "goat" dollar; probably with lower inflation rates. But, who's going to use or accept it? No one. Same thing with bitcoin.

To top that It could have modern improvements that some of the other altcoins have these days - instant transactions and better scaling (no idea what that is btw) e.t.c.

To be fair, those coins with "free" and "instant" transactions has a lot of downsides to them. Remember, speed and fees isn't the thing we should prioritize when looking at a new version of money. Decentralization and security should definitely be the first priority, not speed and fees.

[pooya87]

the reasons (1,2,3) you mentioned are correct but they are only 3 of many reasons and more importantly they are at the bottom of the list of reasons why bitcoin is staying up as number one with  a big space between it and the rest of them.

to focus on the question you asked while addressing your other concerns i have to say there is nothing stopping it, in fact i personally encourage that and i think others would too. we all know this technology is great and it is only starting and it would be inevitable that some day a new innovation to come along and be so much better than bitcoin.
you have to remember that bitcoin is not great because it was first or believe people blindly believe in it. it is great because it is doing what it is supposed to do (being a decentralized currency) well. so far we have not seen anything even close to it, some tried but they sacrificed one thing for another. like sacrificing decentralization for a faster block generation. or security for having a different mining algorithm!

[alina345]

Bitcoin is the first digital currency on the blockchain. It is a form of money that is backed by trust as opposed to a central government. Bitcoin does not need to be mined from mountains or caverns, however, its strength and security is fortified by miners all over the world. The closest thing we have to a Bitcoin 2.0 is one of the cryptocurrencies that already exist such as Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold or any of the other cryptocurrencies with the name Bitcoin. There will only be one Bitcoin.

[Argoo]

There are already coins with better technology than Bitcoin but still people prefer Bitcoin, why? Probably, because when any company looking to integrate crypto, they will add BTC first.

As a result, the usual market economy will work. It will take several decades and only those coins will remain on the cryptocurrency market, which will surpass everyone in terms of technology, functionality, security, usability. Over time, people will stop paying attention to whether it was the first cryptocurrency or the tenth. If Bitcoin wants to stay in the lead, it needs to improve and maintain its competitiveness. This is the main law of the market. Now people just know more about bitcoin, that's why they are interested in them. Information and demand, this is all changeable.

[arbiter5]

Many of the nutjobs also think LN is Bitcoin, it is not ,
LN is a 3rd party offchain promissory note network that works with multiple coins.

Many of the same nutjobs promoting BTC also Promote LN, not realizing it may use altcoins to dethrone BTC

How is LN using altcoins to dethrone BTC? Sure. Altcoins can definitely use LN's tech. But does it matter? Does it make it an inferior solution just because it's not bitcoin-only? That doesn't make any sense at all.

[SIDDHI777]

People today tends to mixed up altcoins and Bitcoin which is not a good practice and that is the reason new comers who are in the crypto world thinks LN and Bitcoin which are very different things when considering various facts and no cryptocurrency has the potential to surpass Bitcoin so far due to the demand, value it has gained over years is immense   

[kelz1]

Bitcoin version 2 was arguably created already. There is bitcoin cash and many other shitcoin variants. It hasn't taken over yet and it is not going to, even if it is faster and cheaper

[davis196]

Hello,
First up - I know this sounds a bit like FUD.. I suppose it is - but it's my own fud and my ponderings about what may happen in the future.

I don't know much about the blockchain technology behind bitcoin to be honest.
However I have heard it is not without it's flaws - I've heard scaling and transaction speed to be two things. (The lightning network is going to speed things up i gather?)

Seeing as Bitcoin was the first it'll always have that, and it is being updated with things like the lightning network and will likely receive many more updates over time, keeping it's edge.
But what is to stop another 'gold/value storage' coin with better technology than bitcoin taking over.?
Most answers I assume will entail: 1) it was the first 2) lots of people believe in it 3) limited supply cap.

Now 1 and 2 I have faith in. They stand to reason.
But number 3 - is not such a good argument in my opinion.
As - I could create a value storage coin with only 10 million maximum circulation, thus trumping bitcoin as a coin of value with inherent rarity.
To top that It could have modern improvements that some of the other altcoins have these days - instant transactions and better scaling (no idea what that is btw) e.t.c.
--

This has been bothering me for some time. I'm not sure if it should. Looking forward to hearing a few opinions on this.
TG

Bitcoin is trustworthy and that's why it will remain the king of crypto.
You could create some altcoin with 1 million or even 100,000 limited supply cap,but it will naver have the amount of trust bitcoin has.Most likely the blockchain of such coin will suck,there will be double spending issues and bugs.The total supply cap doesn't matter that much,a fast and secure blaockchain is what makes the difference between btc and all altcoins.

[jeremy84]

It seems to me that there are currencies based on much better and newer technologies. Although many people continue to use Bitcoin. This is due to the fact that Bitcoin is an idea. It is like a symbol of the cryptosphere.

[Kakmakr]

Bitcoin already have a huge head start over it's competitors and this network affect <as explained by DooMad> are not easily matched. Bitcoin also have a good reputation for solid security in the protocols being used in the code. <Not a lot of people lost coins, when they did not use Bitcoin via 3rd party wallet providers or exchanges>  

Can this happen to Bitcoin in the future? Yes, I have no doubt that some coin or technology might have some better features, but Bitcoin is based on code and code can be improved to conquer their competition. <Just look at how the Lightning Network rendered the Block size upgrades on BCash useless.>  

[Ayiranorea]

More cryptocurrencies that existed by the time of bitcoin is no more in the market. With this I believe bitcoin will be the successful asset in the cryptocurrency market. Even now we can find more crypto related projects getting promoted through the term in comparison to the technology of bitcoin. No cryptocurrency is gonna takeover the bitcoin at any aspect.

[KingScorpio]

you dont want a honest answer seriously a honest answer is usually being deleted by the admins.

you are just a private group of people not a formed will of humanity, that wants to introduce a POW concept.