To become widely adopted, bitcoin and other alt-coins must overcome competition from existing, government-sponsored currencies and reduce the costs for consumers to switch to new payment systems. Until these challenges are met, digital currencies will likely persist only as niche monies or substitutes for very weak currencies.
Bitcoin and the Future of Digital Payments
By William J. Luther
This
article
appeared in
the Winter 2015/16 issue of The Independent Review.
Other Independent Review articles by William J. Luther | |
Fall 2020 | The American Dream Is Not Dead:(But Populism Could Kill It) |
Spring 2018 | The Curse of Cash:How Large-Denomination Bills Aid Crime and Tax Evasion and Constrain Monetary Policy |
Winter 2013/14 | The Battle of Bretton Woods:John Maynard Keynes, Harry Dexter White, and the Making of a New World Order |