One Coin to Rule Them All? ... Nah
I have heard many people speaking of this coin or that token, as a competitor or successor to Bitcoin, in the race to be a functional replacement for fiat currency .. like the not-so-good OLD greenback, but should this still be something sought after? Certainly Bitcoin has not made the advances that people hoped for, in terms of transacting for products and services most folks continue to use government issued currency for .. but that does not equate to any degree of failure, as the current price of Bitcoin (as a commodity and a nonperishable store of value) attests.
Fiat will die, as will centralized, and by definition non-democratic governments .. only to be replaced by a kaleidoscope of coins, tokens, and whatever the hell else you want to call them.
The Future is an extremely diverse place ..
With "communities", sub-cultures, organizations big and small, hobbyist collectives, revolutionary cells, product development teams, cracker networks so on and so forth, each doing their own thing, which is not necessarily meant to be understood or even seen, by any other group. Technology itself will be networked and constantly in communication, trading information and perhaps 'measures of value' between them, with no human actors interfering in the process .. only enjoying, or suffering outcomes. For example .. a group has their own token to represent authority within the group, something that can be traded, or loaned, or earned .. or on the technology side, a fridge and the central heating system in a home trade energy credits between themselves, for after hours operations, based on need .. a negotiation which in turn can be related to the savings this conversation generated, which then can be used by the freakin microwave.
No Need to Compete, Just Win or Not
The myriad blockchains which make use of tokens, and those aspiring crypto-currencies, have created this beautiful mess of options for we enthusiasts and fortune-seekers. Those of these that 'deliver' for the most number of people, or the most economically powerful groups, will win .. and those that offer very little, or that could but are simply not utilized by a sufficient number, will fail. Then there will be those groups, or projects that make use of these things as a method of raising capital, as we have seen with more than a few ICOs of late .. there is no need to directly compete with any other technology, just serve the intended purpose, and if enough people feel you .. you're good.
There is no need to be "a better Bitcoin" .. Bitcoin is what it is, and it will be what it is, forever .. unless governments decide to kill it off. People who say, that can't happen now .. I wish that were the case, but the moment the larger Western Economies recognize it as a real threat they can make it illegal to create, trade, transact with, or purchase or sell it with or for fiat currency - the investment that we have seen in the crypto-realm of late would dry up faster than you can say .. "motherfuckin governm.."
In the Meantime, The Traders Always Win ..
As these things rise and fall .. or rise n rise, the traders will always gain - so if nothing else, your coin will feed that feeding frenzy. :-) They will make lemonade out of your LemonCoins before they turn to RottenSqueezedDryLemonCoins .. and hopefully you will make some too. Otherwise, these blockchain based units of measure, can be used for a thousand different reasons .. and they will.
STEEM has Decentralized Social Media By the Ball ..oons!
At this particular point all other attempts have either stalled in development, or are just plain shitty. New forms of paywalls and silly little micro-payment tipping gizmos, or just plain bad implementation of something that we are already enjoying .. a real economy, with a great many very happy participants. So, after mentioning all those groups and purposes, I would suggest to the wannabe chain + token creators out there, move on to something else .. because we got this!
UPWARD & OUTWARD!Thanks for taking time to give me a read!-
@kurtbeil
Steem is good. But be prepared for Synereo. Their team has huge ambitions.
Very good post.
There is definite 'potential' competition, but Synereo is not something to fear - they have basically been outed as a bunch of charlatans - they have taken a lot of investment and produced nothing other than a silly plugin, that too few people will use. DECENT is similar .. they have created a paywall system, which the world has already decided is a very poor model - if God himself wrote a message about the future of humanity, and put it behind a paywall, no one would read it. :) We are thousands of kilometers ahead of all comers.
Hi @kurtbeil, this is a really interesting article..
This is a discussion that always occurs between "fanatics" of any group, just as you indicate. For me, I believe that the different cryptocurrencies should not be seen as competitors, but as complementary systems that should contribute efficiently to a "higher-level organism".
When I participate in this type of discussions of the cryptocurrencies, I use the organic analogy of a human being. I simply argue that each organ fulfills a specialized function that is fundamental to the normal development of the body. Within each organ are exchanged different enzymes and proteins that are usually exclusive to that organ. That would be the criptocurrency. These enzymes and proteins, not that they are better or worse than others, are simply essential to the functioning of that particular organ. They may not work for any other organ, but if it did not exist, that organ would collapse and the whole body would suffer the consequences. In fact, none of the other organs have to be aware of the existence of other organs.
Therefore, it is ridiculous to try to establish which cryptocurrency is better than another, basically all are important for the normal development of the ecosystem.
Of course, there are organs or parts that do not seem to be essential, perhaps the appendix, which can be eliminated without the body suffering serious consequences, and even when they are not functioning properly, if they are not eliminated, they can create chaos in the ecosystem.
Hence, my analysis in the cryptocurrency always focuses on elucidating what essential function meets that cryptocoin in the ecosystem, and very important, try to understand what would happen to the ecosystem if that cryptocurrency cease to exist.
This line of thought is what led me to the conclusion that Steem is essential for the future development of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Best regards…
Very much appreciate the thoughtful feedback .. I think your biological description of the evolving ecosystem is a very good way to view this - the best proteins will emerge as dominant, while some of these systems will serve merely as catalysts for others, and run their course .. other successful creations will be supplanted by improved variations, but for certain a wide range will be in-use, serving many functions ... it's a very fascinating and I think entirely accurate perspective!
@everittdmickey recommended your post and I read it very carefully. The question is what will we let happen. As it is, it can swing many ways.
Following. Cheers,
Velimir
https://steemit.com/life/@velimir/the-liberation-grand-plan-series-part-1
Well said.
I absolutely agree.
If the idiot gubments don't do something MORE stupid than they do on a regular basis...and start a global war or something...then the futures is looking so bright..
that I need sunglasses
Nice
Andreas antonopolis said something along these lines, kindergartners will make coins, joey coin vs molly coin. People will use coins that represent what they believe in and that connects to their culture and personality. Justin bieber coin, Eco friendly coin, activism coin, etc.
Great post! Resteemed
interesting topic. I'm really new crypto-currencies and the idea of an unregulated (or self-regulated) and de-centralized platform to replace currencies and services is extremely interesting and will have far reaching consequences. But I think it does come down whether the old way of things and existing power structures embrace it/shut it down through strict regulation or achieve some form fake symbiosis where they exert control over these new technologies.
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