Also, Bitcoin is totally an invention by the Fed to ween people off fiat, despite the fact the Bitcoin network and its total overall volume are a joke compared to global currency trade, and basically worse, or completely irrelevant, for consumers in pretty much all cases.
If there was any ever proof techno libertarian supernerds are insanely disconnected from reality, stuff like this is it. You have a better chance of actually being The Highlander. But seriously, I could write a comedy novel about this stuff at this point - so do continue to go on.
What would Bitcoin solve that the USD doesn't?
Why would the world accept a technological "solution" whose implementation already contains dire technical problems?
What makes you think hyperinflation is a realistic outcome?
If I grant you a world that decides fiat model is Bad, why would they choose a system that is inherently centralized? One whose early adopters and hoarders have been manipulating the crypto-currency market for their advantage for years? One whose transaction history is public to _everyone_? One that only has a handful of gatekeepers, that have been proven to work with governments and have been caught delaying transactions to profit from the change in the price in Bitcoin?
In Greece there have been calls to go back to the Drachma - but this doesn't mean a lack of faith in fiat currency, the greeks seem to more want out of the EU currency union then anything else.
Ooh, can we bet money on that?
Because fraud matters. Because consumer protection for all kinds of non-delivery, mis-delivery or simple misunderstandings is actually more important for everyday purchases than all the advantages of an independent cryptocurrency. And of course, widespread availability, liquidity and value stability are just non-optional table stakes.
Bitcoin on its own is not competitive as a replacement for the full payment infrastructure. Bitcoin together with a widespread trusted escrow system, reputation system and a (currently unavailable) legal framework could fit the role, but in that "Bitcoin++" the missing parts are larger and more complex than the Bitcoin core implementation.
http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/13/down-the-blockchain-rabbit-...
"In theory, this distributed micropayment network–the Lightning Network–could scale Bitcoin transactions up to “billions of transactions per day” across the planet, with minimal use of the blockchain and minimal fees (zero, for direct channels.)" Instant and way more than 7 tps... Settled on the blockchain and still decentralized. ;)
2. It's a sidechain - that is to say, an altcoin that claims a link to Bitcoin. The forces that would cause mutually-distrusting individual humans to maintain the linkage is unclear.
1. Like other sidechains, but unlike altcoins, it ... doesn't exist. This is a subtle point, but I think it might be an important one.
(not that I am any fan of altcoins either. But basically, the Bitcoin protocol as it stands was never designed with scaling in mind.)
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is still 7 TPS.