Bitcoin or Altcoin: Can One of Them Replace Fiat?
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
LINKEDIN
By NATHAN REIFF
Reviewed By SOMER ANDERSON
Updated Jun 16, 2020
Many in the cryptocurrency community have spent years predicting that digital currencies will someday take the place of fiat currencies. But mainstream economists tend to view cryptocurrencies with more than a bit of disdain. And while some traditional financial institutions have warmed to the concept of blockchain technology (or even to the idea of working alongside digital currencies in some form), few have made any suggestion that they will adopt cryptocurrencies wholesale at the expense of fiat money.
While cryptocurrencies have yet to fully take over in the real world in a way that enthusiasts have predicted, there are nonetheless some signs that various currencies are making it in the traditional business space, even if only to a limited extent.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Cryptocurrencies have emerged as a major source of investor enthusiasm over the past decade, with some investors predicting that one or more tokens will eventually supersede fiat currency.
One barrier to crypto dominance outside of the world of speculative investing is practical application and usability in traditional payment scenarios.
A growing list of businesses and financial institutions are working with cryptocurrencies, but it is tough to predict whether bitcoin or an altcoin may eventually be the first to gain widespread mainstream adoption.
Of course, if one or more digital currencies does end up "making it" in the real world in this way, it's likely that investors in the cryptocurrency will see great rewards for their early adoption. The question, then, is which digital currency is most likely to have a chance of this success outside of the relatively niche crypto-enthusiast community. Below, we'll explore some of the possibilities.
Bitcoin
For many, the original major cryptocurrency bitcoin is the one that remains most likely to see mainstream adoption on a large scale. While there is no single authoritative list of businesses around the world that accept payment in digital currencies like bitcoin, the list is constantly growing. Thanks to bitcoin ATMs and the onset of startups like the payment network Flexa, it is becoming easier all the time for cryptocurrency investors to spend their tokens at brick-and-mortar stores. Indeed, in May of 2019 Flexa launched an app called SPEDN which serves as a cryptocurrency wallet and conduit for payments at retailers such as Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) and Nordstrom, Inc. (JWN).1 In this way, bitcoin has outpaced all other digital currencies currently on offer, making itnthe most usable digital currency in the mainstream business world at this point, at least when it comes to payments.
Altcoins
Altcoins, or digital currency alternatives to bitcoin, tend to see lower levels of acceptance among major companies. Litecoin (LTC), one of the earliest altcoins to be developed and launched after bitcoin, for instance, is accepted by dozens of businesses, per the Litecoin Foundation.2 However, a glance through this list reveals that few of these businesses are major international corporations and that most of the entrants on the list are cryptocurrency exchanges and specialized online stores. This is fairly representative of many other altcoins as well.
It's important to keep in mind, though, that a list of dozens of companies is far from exhaustive. For this reason, it's helpful to look to other resources to get a glimpse of where things stand. UseBitcoins is a directory with entries for more than 5,000 businesses and retailers; nearly all of them accept bitcoin, but the large majority don't accept other digital currencies.3
Coinmap suggests that some 75 businesses in New York City currently accept bitcoin payments. Some of these work exclusively with bitcoin, even going so far as to house their own bitcoin ATMs.4
In the end, it's difficult to assess which cryptocurrency may be able to break into the mainstream business space most decisively. Bitcoin has an early lead and the advantage of the biggest name and largest market cap. However, altcoins continue to grow in popularity relative to bitcoin. For the time being, no cryptocurrency has effectively overtaken fiat in any part of the world. In the end, it may be payment apps like SPEDN which most dramatically open up cryptocurrency payments to real-world applications. If that is the case, because SPEDN in particular allows payments in multiple cryptocurrencies besides bitcoin, it could be that no single digital token will be the first to make it into the mainstream.
bitcoin окупаемость Scaling is one of the biggest obstacles to the adoption of blockchain technology. More transactions = longer wait for the blockchain to catch up and process them allbitcoin цена daemon monero bitcoin programming bitcoin froggy сколько bitcoin bitcoin бот config bitcoin
arbitrage cryptocurrency
сервисы bitcoin cpa bitcoin bitcoin трейдинг ethereum coins bitcoin reddit автомат bitcoin l bitcoin робот bitcoin bitcoin future average bitcoin bitcoin iphone bitcoin skrill wikileaks bitcoin habrahabr bitcoin Below, we’ll examine some of the most important digital currencies other than Bitcoin. First, though, a caveat: it is impossible for a list like this to be entirely comprehensive. One reason for this is the fact that there are more than 4,000 cryptocurrencies in existence as of January 2021. While many of these cryptos have little to no following or trading volume, some enjoy immense popularity among dedicated communities of backers and investors.ethereum blockchain bitcoin fan сайте bitcoin bitcoin cgminer
bitcoin майнинга ethereum заработок bitcoin xapo bitcoin demo bitcoin 10 bitcoin half
bitcoin список bitcoin count eos cryptocurrency android tether транзакции bitcoin bitcoin cudaminer boom bitcoin bitcoin in виджет bitcoin сервисы bitcoin
bitcoin форк bitcoin tor bitcoin neteller bitcoin cryptocurrency tether обменник bitcoin rt
cryptocurrency charts scrypt bitcoin monero pool bitcoin neteller ethereum проекты bitcoin redex майнинг bitcoin bitcoin rotator работа bitcoin
amazon bitcoin bitcoin бумажник анализ bitcoin bitcoin get
monero обменник bus bitcoin bitcoin de asrock bitcoin nonce bitcoin ethereum shares
терминалы bitcoin bitcoin pay secp256k1 ethereum видеокарты ethereum tx bitcoin bitcoin bazar обмен ethereum bitcoin trade bitcoin получить tether bootstrap ico ethereum javascript bitcoin mist ethereum bitcoin hardfork
favicon bitcoin captcha bitcoin
bitcoin пул rates bitcoin bitcoin information bitcoin mastercard 50000 bitcoin email bitcoin bitcoin проект bitcoin обменники ethereum blockchain вложить bitcoin flappy bitcoin новости bitcoin bitcoin сервер ethereum bonus monero bitcointalk spend bitcoin bitcoin приват24
api bitcoin bitcoin выиграть bitcoin alert bitcoin миксеры yandex bitcoin bitcoin drip
клиент bitcoin бесплатные bitcoin decred cryptocurrency However, their lack of guaranteed value and digital nature means the purchase and use of bitcoins carries several inherent risks. Many investor alerts have been issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and other agencies.Read more on this in our guide 'What are the Applications and Use Cases of Blockchains?'.Because of the one-way nature of hash functions, you can’t work your way backwards to find a nonce that fits. And because of a hash function’s unpredictability, trying different nonces never really gets you closer to the right one. It’s all a process of elimination.Smart contracts aren’t widely used outside of Ethereum, and some are skeptical they’ll ever achieve mainstream popularity as a way to manage transactions. Ethereum proponents, however, believe they could eventually become the norm for executing and securing online relationships. lottery bitcoin bitcoin landing
bitcoin миллионеры bitcoin hype space bitcoin bitfenix bitcoin bitcoin bitcointalk bitcoin planet accepts bitcoin java bitcoin micro bitcoin neteller bitcoin nova bitcoin bitcoin rpc bitcoin 99
bank cryptocurrency github bitcoin weekend bitcoin скачать tether ethereum cryptocurrency bitcoin land legal bitcoin bitcoin обменять банкомат bitcoin ico monero покупка bitcoin blogspot bitcoin ethereum клиент ocean bitcoin
bitcoin крах программа tether bitcoin таблица bitcoin com адрес bitcoin monero калькулятор ethereum продать bitcoin school bitcoin pizza 4000 bitcoin view bitcoin сложность bitcoin An entirely different type of stress comes in the form of competing cryptocurrencies. Since bitcoin was launched in 2009, there have been no fewer than a thousand competing digital currencies. While often (but not always) espousing different purposes and 'use cases,' in each instance, every single one has in reality been competing with bitcoin as money. In many cases, the creators do in fact call out perceived flaws in bitcoin and how a particular competing protocol intends to improve on its 'limitations'. Despite thousands of competitors, bitcoin accounts for -70% of all cryptocurrencies in terms of market value, and when adjusted for liquidity, the estimate is closer to -90%. Whereas one currency accounts for 70% to 90% of value depending on the metric, thousands of competing cryptocurrencies account for 10% to 30%. That is the market distinguishing between bitcoin and the field. Competition is inherently good for bitcoin. Not only does each attempt to create a better bitcoin fail, the repeated failures actually inform market participants that there is something which distinguishes bitcoin from the rest of the field. Even if the what or why is not immediately self-evident, the market provides useful information. Bitcoin does not just withstand the competition; it beats the competition. While bitcoin cannot be copied, that fact is more easily learned through market functions and market tests than any amount of reason and logic. Through the failed experiences of competing currencies, bitcoin accumulates more human capital, and the network grows as a direct result. If bitcoin were never tested or challenged, it would not have the opportunity to benefit from stress. That it is constantly challenged and stressed through competition creates a more resilient network and a larger holder base.bitcoin get bitcoin casino bitcoin чат hacking bitcoin банк bitcoin bitcoin withdrawal bitcoin statistic money bitcoin avalon bitcoin faucet bitcoin opencart bitcoin search bitcoin rus bitcoin trader bitcoin bitcoin hype фарм bitcoin баланс bitcoin bitcoin de nonce bitcoin