core developers are talking about changing the code for how bitcoin works or talking about creating another kind of bitcoin altogether, then it cannot be deemed an irrefutable store of value. They are even talking about making it easier to change these rules. Something that is an irrefutable store of value cannot be changed – such as gold. The question has to be asked – what if developers decide in the future to allow the total number of bitcoins to expand? I know that seems unfeasible now, but these debates have meant that anything is now possible, if improbable. That, to me, destroys the store-of-value argument. Much has been said by bitcoin lovers about the “killer app” that is likely to come out of payment processing – disrupting vastly inefficient, costly businesses such as the world’s largest money-transfer company Western Union (WU), as well as debit cards, credit cards, and the SWIFT international payment system. It has been several years since all this talk started, and we still have no killer app. Meanwhile, in India, a mobile app called the Bharat Interface for Money (“BHIM”) and others using the nation’s Unified Payment Interface (“UPI”) have enrolled nearly a billion people and can process payments 50 times faster than bitcoin. Sure, it’s not an THE ‘KILLER APP’ ISN’T COMING
immutable, distributed ledger, but is it not the solution people were looking for? They wanted a virtually free way to transfer money instantaneously without a middleman. India solved that. Bitcoin, and the underlying blockchain technology, was a solution looking for a problem, it seems. The dinosaur that was to be disrupted – credit-card company Visa (V) – actually beat everyone to their own demise by launching its own blockchain for business-to-business payments. It seems that the killer app from bitcoin failed to kill anyone. I also envisaged that the futures exchanges, derivative settlement systems, and custody systems were going to find the use of bitcoin blockchain technology incredibly helpful. However, what has transpired is that these key parts of the global financial infrastructure are now using private blockchains... The incumbent businesses saw very quickly how disruptive blockchain technology was, and they acted immediately to develop it themselves to avoid being assigned to the dustbin. They have proven more adaptable than anyone deemed possible. Bitcoin has killed no one so far. Blockchain technology will make adaptable businesses stronger. This makes me think that the bitcoin killer app is never coming. It is all hopes and dreams.
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