> total number of bitcoins is capped at 21 million [...]. This makes Bitcoin appealing to many people because something that will never increase in supply is more likely to hold its value.
A deeper problem is what happens when the economy grows to more than what Bitcoin can represent. For example, what happens when a piece of bread is worth less than 1 satoshi? With a fiat currency, you can simply print more so that said piece of bread can have its value accurately represented. You can't do that with Bitcoin.
To make matters worse, if a whole bunch of [flames, edit: money] goes up in flames more can be printed to replace it. If Bitcoin goes missing[1], it's gone for good.
Currency was formulated to replace barter (precisely because of indivisibility problems: you have one cow, but I only have three bread to trade). Cryptocurrency is not a currency because it specifically aims to reintroduce problems that currency solves. It could be an alternative solution to the barter problem if a novel workflow is formulated (such as Ripple carrying information and not value), but buying stuff with it is unsustainable in the long run.
A deeper problem is what happens when the economy grows to more than what Bitcoin can represent. For example, what happens when a piece of bread is worth less than 1 satoshi? With a fiat currency, you can simply print more so that said piece of bread can have its value accurately represented. You can't do that with Bitcoin.
To make matters worse, if a whole bunch of [flames, edit: money] goes up in flames more can be printed to replace it. If Bitcoin goes missing[1], it's gone for good.
Currency was formulated to replace barter (precisely because of indivisibility problems: you have one cow, but I only have three bread to trade). Cryptocurrency is not a currency because it specifically aims to reintroduce problems that currency solves. It could be an alternative solution to the barter problem if a novel workflow is formulated (such as Ripple carrying information and not value), but buying stuff with it is unsustainable in the long run.
[1]: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/ne...