Satoshi's paper is literally titled, "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System", but it's generally considered to have failed at that. (Even most Bitcoin events don't allow you to pay in Bitcoin, for example.)
Bitcoin folks now talk about it as "digital gold" or "a store of value", which is fine, but very different than what it was set out to be.
I understand, the P2P layer has moved to lightning layer atop Bitcoin. Works very well. In terms of adoption of P2P transactions, we will have to wait till more widespread adoption. And most who have bitcoin will be reluctant to spend it for coffees and would rather let it appreciate in value for now.
> I understand, the P2P layer has moved to lightning layer atop Bitcoin. Works very well.
I can appreciate how off-chain overlays can allow Bitcoin to achieve transactions at scale. What I don't quite get is why this kind of recentralization[1] is good for Bitcoin. It feels like the endgame may be a kind of "worst of both worlds" solution — no longer decentralized, but still not as efficient as centralized solutions.
Unless: Can Bitcoin users prevent off-chain transactions, to avoid Lightning?
Bitcoin has proven to be a poor "medium of exchange", but that is OK because buying and selling Bitcoin is easy enough for it to be a practical place in which to park money. I.e., it has proven to be a satisfactory "store of value".
Gold is a poor medium of exchange, too, but that has not prevented it from being a satisfactory store of value.
(Yes, I know that gold actually was a common medium of exchange at one time; it was displaced centuries ago by the greater convenience of paper money.)
Some visionary types hoped Bitcoin would disrupt government-issued (paper) money and governments and banks generally. The fact that these hopes were dashed does not mean Bitcoin will not remain an OK place to park money.
Satoshi's paper is literally titled, "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System", but it's generally considered to have failed at that. (Even most Bitcoin events don't allow you to pay in Bitcoin, for example.)
Bitcoin folks now talk about it as "digital gold" or "a store of value", which is fine, but very different than what it was set out to be.