We say we want decentralized currency...but do we understand what that means?
I think a lot of people love cryptocurrency as an investment because of their returns, not because of their functions. Sure, there are a lot of coins created just for that purpose - bitcoin, litecoin - but there are so many "currencies" that are actually just computational power to solve or power blockchain functions, such as Ethereum, Siacoin, Golem, and the like. The cost of these functionality should not hinge on the dollar, yuan, won or rubles, but we still centralize the "cryptocurrencies" on print money.
Money is a concept - it's a declaration of value. It establishes a unit of transfer between the two parties as compensation for services rendered. So let's take a step back from thinking BTC is equal to X amount of dollars.
Remember, blockchain and its currencies are not about money. It's about function. The dollar values assigned to them may become hollow in the future, but the services rendered will persist.
I think the other thing that "bitcoin" helps solve is creating a global currency. I imagine a world when one day I can travel the world and pay with "bitcoin" in England, Spain, Japan, Germany, US, etc. No more exchange rates or worrying about which countries accept certain currencies. I put bitcoin in quotes because it can be any cryptocurrency that's the most popular in the future or even possibly multiple cryptos.
I see. That sounds like something that can be done effectively with Ripple.
Ripple will probably be a currency of the future and the reason why decentralized is such a key factor. Too many people worry about the value of Ripple being controlled by the banks which is the reason crypto was invented in the first place to prevent a central organization from having all/most of the power. This is where cryptos such as Dash, litecoin, bitcoin, and monero shine.
I think Ripple definitely has potential, but if it only remains a bank utility token, it's gonna dip even more.