Is there a reason that a consumer would prefer an application-specific currency (intimate, DentaCoin, whatever) rather than a generic currency (BTC, BCH, ETH, LTC, whatever)?
From my point of view, it seems like an unnecessary friction to be moving value between different currencies depending on what I want to buy - and the fact that I'm buying the currency at all may reveal more than I want it to.
(* I understand why it's attractive to be in on the beginning of a new digital currency, and collect the proceeds of an ICO, or hold a lot of cheap or pre-mined coins; I'm specifically interested in why it's good for a consumer, not the promoters.)
I agree with that sentiment. There's something semi-nonsensical about application specific currencies, when the application does not involve some sort of distributed computing.
From my point of view, it seems like an unnecessary friction to be moving value between different currencies depending on what I want to buy - and the fact that I'm buying the currency at all may reveal more than I want it to.
(* I understand why it's attractive to be in on the beginning of a new digital currency, and collect the proceeds of an ICO, or hold a lot of cheap or pre-mined coins; I'm specifically interested in why it's good for a consumer, not the promoters.)