Sorry, can only comment on a little piece since it's almost 3am.
Even if Bitcoins turn out as a failed experiment, it still provides a glimpse into a decentralized monetary future. As distrust in central banks continue to increase as the financial crisis drags on, my expectation is that private currencies will continue to grow in popularity.
This opinion is widespread, but I believe it sounds too negative for Bitcoin. The design is actually quite extensible and probably close to the optimum; if Bitcoin fails for non-technical reasons, the future of private currencies would look quite dim.
That said, there is no serious competition and no reason to believe anything BUT Bitcoin should become the dominant non-fiat global currency.
This is a very strong statement. Bitcoin is a special case, a disruptive technology just emerging. Just like html, there could have been others, but this one came first and is likely to take its market position with great force. This stance is not only logical, but also in everyone's best interest -- there is no reason to split into marginally better backing systems when we can just extend Bitcoin and unite on a measure of value.
An article should emphasize that Bitcoin is in a special position, and this first appearance of distributed finance is a once-in-history event. No reason to "tone it down" at this point.
