The Problems with Bitcoin and its Future

The best way for any project to move forward, make improvements and be successful is by first identifying the right problems and then solving them. Brilliant solutions to the wrong problems can cause projects to die instead.

Bitcoin (and more generally, cryptocurrency) is an innovation that has the potential to change the world in many ways, especially how currency works - freeing it from the control of financial institutions and governments and giving control back to the users .

Considering the huge impact this is going to have on the world and on society in the next few decades, this is a subject that has to be seen from various different perspectives and fields of study, like:

• Politics

• Sociology

• Economics

• Engineering, and

• Design

What problems is Bitcoin/cryptocurrencies going to face in the short-term and long-term and how can we use our knowledge in these fields to correctly identify the major problems and seek solutions for them?

Obviously, the most heated argument surrounding Bitcoin right now is:

How is Bitcoin going to scale?

Or, how is Bitcoin going to serve billions of people in the long run?

This argument has seen Bitcoin diverging into two different chains of thought (and two different blockchains) - BTC and BCH.

I think it would be a mistake to think the side with the best technological answer will eventually stand alone. This is too complex a subject to look at it that way. For example, if we are going to see greater adoption of the technology, we have design solutions that can make it possible. Technology alone won't lead to mass adoption. (See: Linux vs. Windows)

Here are a few more questions that I think will be interesting to talk about:

• How do we find a proper balance between decentralization and mass adoption?

• How do we resist efforts from governments, financial institutions, and other people with vested interests from moving Bitcoin towards a direction suited only towards their interests?

• How do we design systems in such a way that using Bitcoin becomes as easy as using cash without compromising on security? (Because using wallets, learning about private keys, etc. all that is very confusing to a newcomer.)

Looking for all kinds views on this. From both people supporting BCH and BTC.

Links to articles or papers discussing the political, sociological, and economical implications of Bitcoin will also be greatly appreciated.