Will the Technology That Created Bitcoin Kill It?

It's conceivable that it's own success will eventually strangle bitcoin in a flood of competing cryptocurrencies, causing values to be reduced.

But an equally likely scenario could be that bitcoin et al will be co-opted by the governments and too-big-to-fail banks it was originally designed to circumvent. JL


Panos Mourdoukoutas reports in Forbes:

Blockchain, the technology that created Bitcoin, can be used to create other cryptocurrencies that compete against Bitcoin, as already it has done. Like Etherium, Litecoin, and Ripple. A larger supply of cryptocurrencies could eventually crush Bitcoin prices for good, the way a larger supply of different varieties of tulips crushed tulip prices back in the 17th century. Big governments and big banks will crush Bitcoin, but they won’t kill it. The technology that created Bitcoin will do it.
Big governments and big banks will crush Bitcoin, but they won’t kill it. The technology that created Bitcoin will do it, one day.
Investors chasing after Bitcoin as its price trades close to $6000, hoping that they will find other investors to sell at higher prices, are confusing the promise of the technology behind Bitcoin with the promise of Bitcoin as an alternative form of money.

Coin	% 24H	% 7d
Bitcoin (BTC)	4.92	6.45
Ethereum (ETH)	-1.44	10.76
Litecoin (LTC)	0.87	2.56

**As of Friday October 20, 2017, at 7.30 pm
Without doubt, the technology behind Bitcoin, called blockchain, has the potential to change capitalism, by bringing efficiency and transparency to everyday transactions.
Bitcoin as an alternative to national currencies has the potential to change capitalism, too, by democratizing transactions, and shifting power from central banks to the people.
That's why we called it “people's currency” in a previous piece here. The trouble is that both promises are expected to face a great deal of opposition by economic elites. Using blockchain technology to fight corruption that holds most emerging economies back from becoming developed, for instance, is expected to face stiff resistance by the local elites that benefit from corruption.
And the use of Bitcoin as an alternative to national currencies is already facing stiff resistance by central banks and commercial banks.
That’s bad news for Bitcoin investors, as central banks and banks can find ways to taper the demand for Bitcoin, taming any further price gains and occasionally crushing it, as the Chinese government did recently.
Then there's another, more fundamental, problem. Blockchain, the technology that created Bitcoin, can be used to create other cryptocurrencies that compete against Bitcoin, as already it has done. Like Etherium, Litecoin, and Ripple, to mention but a few.
That would be the bad news for Bitcoin investors. A larger supply of cryptocurrencies could eventually crush Bitcoin prices for good, the way a larger supply of different varieties of tulips crushed tulip prices back in the 17th century.
Simply put, the technology that created Bitcoin will eventually kill it.
John-Paul McCaffrey, Associate Director, ITRC at Long Island University disagrees. "Other cryptocurrencies will compete with but not crush Bitcoin," says McCaffrey. "Those that joined the cryptocurrency market when Bitcoin was introduced have helped to develop what it has now become. With millions of dollars of transactions, Bitcoin has gained trust among its users by providing an ecosystem where they can buy and sell as an alternative to their national currency. This trust has seemed to remain despite the fluctuation in the price of a Bitcoin. The barrier to entry is relatively low as new cryptocurrencies are emerging often. The one thing that they lack is the large mass adoption that Bitcoin has a strong hold on. Other cryptocurrencies will compete but they have a long road to go if they are going to prevail over Bitcoin."
It remains to be seen.