It could certainly coexist with other e-moneys, even and especially those that use the same protocols as Bitcoin (but which merely give their currency a unique name to keep it distinct). They would have to overcome the chicken-and-egg problem, but they
In response to points raised by “User:”jsalvatier, I mentioned that this could be a solution to the issue of currencies being “run” poorly. That is, if the limited max number of Bitcoins[1] really poses a problem for the Bitcoin economy, people may start to favor a competitor with the same anonymity, etc. benefits but which allows indefinite expansion of the money supply.
Whenever Bitcoin-like competing currencies start up, they would expand the effective “digital anonymous money supply” but in a way that doesn’t violate the anti-inflation promises to current Bitcoin users. Over time, the experimentation with more currencies using Bitcoin-like protocol will help that economy. And the pickiness of people in terms of whether they insist on the original Bitcoins or the new ones will shape the future market.
In short, I don’t see a major problem with similar competitors coming along and using the same protocol and having floating exchange rates with each other.
[1] which is a distinct issue from the divisibility of Bitcoins, even though people will keep equating the two for some reason
It could certainly coexist with other e-moneys, even and especially those that use the same protocols as Bitcoin (but which merely give their currency a unique name to keep it distinct). They would have to overcome the chicken-and-egg problem, but they
In response to points raised by “User:”jsalvatier, I mentioned that this could be a solution to the issue of currencies being “run” poorly. That is, if the limited max number of Bitcoins[1] really poses a problem for the Bitcoin economy, people may start to favor a competitor with the same anonymity, etc. benefits but which allows indefinite expansion of the money supply.
Whenever Bitcoin-like competing currencies start up, they would expand the effective “digital anonymous money supply” but in a way that doesn’t violate the anti-inflation promises to current Bitcoin users. Over time, the experimentation with more currencies using Bitcoin-like protocol will help that economy. And the pickiness of people in terms of whether they insist on the original Bitcoins or the new ones will shape the future market.
In short, I don’t see a major problem with similar competitors coming along and using the same protocol and having floating exchange rates with each other.
[1] which is a distinct issue from the divisibility of Bitcoins, even though people will keep equating the two for some reason