"We decided to move on to superior technology"
That was a quote from the SatoshiPay CEO when he announced today that they would no longer be using the Bitcoin blockchain for Micropayments.
Specifically, the quote from CEO Meinhard Benn reads as follows:
"We love Bitcoin for its pioneering role in the creation of our industry, but some blockchain networks it inspired have evolved faster than bitcoin itself, so we decided to move on to superior technology."
Undoubtedly, not something the Bitcoin maximalists wanted to hear...
What is this superior technology you might ask?
Well, SatoshiPay announced today that they have partnered with the IOTA Foundation.
The IOTA Foundation is a not for profit that oversees network development. It will help explore replacing Bitcoin with the IOTA chain as it's primary settlement network.
The IOTA website can be seen here:
In the past, SatoshiPay had been relying on the Bitcoin network to settle payments since SatoshiPay's inception in 2015.
At that time the average transaction fee was around $.02. Now, the average transaction fee on Bitcoin is around $2.41.
Why IOTA?
To piggy back off of what was just mentioned above, it's transaction fees.
IOTA has zero fee transactions and has no limit on the number of transactions per second of its processing.
Fee free and the unlimited number of transactions make it an ideal fit for any company, especially SatoshiPay.
Not surprisingly, this is not the only startup to leave Bitcoin for another blockchain in the recent past...
"Yours" announced back in May that they would be switching to Litecoin from bitcoin also stating similar reasoning.
What this all means?
The clock is ticking for Bitcoin.
All of this further underscores why August 1st is such a huge deal for Bitcoin. If Bitcoin continues on as is, many blockchains will replace it.
It was the first but the technology is dated compared to what is out there currently, therefore Bitcoin must either adapt or be left behind.
Get out the popcorn, August 1st is rapidly approaching...
Stay informed my friends!
Sources:
http://www.coindesk.com/satoshipay-stop-using-bitcoin-blockchain-micropayments/
Image Sources:
http://www.newsbtc.com/2015/02/12/long-will-bitcoin-really-last/
https://www.pinterest.com/Molsworth/t-rex/
Follow me: @jrcornel
Think it's a bit early to be calling the end for bitcoin. These other blockchains promise great things but none of their networks have been put under the level of stress bitcoin has. Ethereum claimed it could handle it but when the ICO's came heavy, it's network had issues.
So true. At this point the only thing truly threatening to the technological foundation of Bitcoin is quantum computing, and that MAY be years away. Ask most vets what they'd feel most comfortable holding onto over the next few years, and most will say Bitcoin is their #1 choice.
Quantum computing threatens ALL cryptos. Plus, if it becomes a threat then we can hard-fork to quantum signatures, problem solved.
yes because running computers at -273C, that cost millions of dollars is a threat.. I dont even think they will honestly be able to harness qubiut tech..
QKD blockchains will be quantum resistant, so we'll be alright for a while I reckon :-)
Cg
The network may be strong, but a big problem with BTC is transfer times. There can never be another Bitcoin, the same way that there can never be another printing press, Wright Flyer.
Interesting point. I'm a novice at digital currencies, but if this is the dawn of a new era, it only makes sense that the first interation will fall to much more developed systems. Just like the Wright Brothers plane turning into a Boeing 747 in a matter of decades
Bingo
Good to know there are still some sane people on Steemit.
@rawpride however don't you think the higher transaction fees and slow processing speed is a problem for bitcoin? If they don't improve on this, networks like IOTA will definitely give tough competition to BTC.
people have to remmeber, a good stable crypto has supply and demand.. half the people just hodl there currency hoping to get rich,, you can acctually use bit coin the buy things.. and deep web is a great eg..
Too many of these coins could dilute them all, would prefer there were just a few on the market, but more are on the way.
Yep I agree.... I am not sure what needs to happen to really clean the space out, but something needs to happen.
The free market will have to work itself out I guess.
bingo. This is a great laissez faire experiment. Lets let it do it's thing.
When an IPO happens, people already know the company. When a new ICO happes, people just invest because of the hype in the crypto technology. Maybe when the hype is gone, and crypto related companies are judged harsher, maybe then we will see a cleaner market of coins.
I said this years ago. If they ALL have value, then NONE OF THEM HAVE VALUE.
For sure.
Some coins with real value will survive and many will fade away in the future....
Yes, most have to fade away or there can be no real value.
Seem to me as long as people believe in bitcoin, it will hold value.
And as far as I've understood only Litecoin has similiar features as far as bitcoin in that it's decentralized and cannot be centralized.
Unless as I've said all along, someone comes up with a coin actually backed up by something, aren't we all still talking about money made out of this air?
I keep saying cryto can make you a rich person but I still also say, silver and gold are the real money.
I believe it's best to Have a some of all Three.
The end is near!
As i am browsing for some pic's for a story I am working on. I enter the search "political riots" It is at this point that i start to stair at the screen. the images on the screen scared the shit out of me. I realized that there is something really wrong with this world. I tried to calculate the amount of money that is spent on military around the world. I did not get to the result. However I did think if the UN nations are spending on avg 2% of there GDP on military. that it sure is more money than what is needed to feed the world and more. Now to get to money the political people create unrest. violence, confusion ext. Then they create a common enemy. Then you have all the fuel to sell arms to the rebellion. when the rebellion gets to strong the local army need better arms and the sale is made. Then after the country is completely fucked they come back to buy the assets at rock bottom price. They convince countries to donate to some relieve fund and they start to rebuild the place. Now remember this is more than likely your tax money being spent. If this was done for natural disasters I am sure you will be fine with the idea. However please do the google search "political riots".
That all said. The political players in all major crypto's are surely hustling for position. A time for perfect alignment.
People are concerned about bitcoin future. From a political point of view. The world is starting to realize that the old government systems do not work. Blockchain has big impact on the minds of forward thinking communities. We know we can now have a trusted none corruptible truth. This can be used for any type class industry. The fact that blockchain tech is growing at the pace it has in the past year. All this point to the need for the crypto community to protect bitcoin. The truth is we do not need bitcoin to be a micro payment system with super fast confirmation. All we need is for bitcoin to maintain.
Bitcoin is more than a decentralized crypto currency. It is a movement. It is the way of the future. People in the world are waking up at an alarming rate. The red pill is being swallowed. Governments cannot be trusted. Blockchain can be trusted.
Bitcoin is the crypto that need to survive for the complete crypto industry to succeed.
Bitcoin need to develop a political image. Bitcoin need to be seen as the mother-ship of crypto's. There will be constant buy in to the bitcoin market by bigger players. Many millionaires around the world will buy bitcoin. This will send the value of bitcoin up consistently for the next few years. From a supply and demand view there is just not that many bitcoin to come. Then there are the other markets that will fuel the value. It is just not thinkable that the bitcoin industry will harm bitcoin. Bitcoin is the dollar of the crypto-world.
Bitcoin right now!!!!
Woohoo! I just bought some IOTA at $0.17!
How can bitcoin ever evolve enough to deal with Zero fees and infinite transactions per second. It seems it is evolving into a digital version of gold where there will be few transactions. A trusted hedge but not one that is very useful for paying for groceries. Bitcoin remains the exit and entry point between the alt world and fiat currencies. Perhaps that is needed, but even that is frustrating when the market moves as much as it does at the moment. It is frustratingly slow.
Andreas Antonopolus has stated in his presentations about Bitcoin, that it was in fact looking to establish itself as a global reserve currency. That seems to have happened already on some level, at least in the world of cryptocurrency. As you have pointed out, if you are looking to buy altcoins, you must first purchase Bitcoin to trade for them.
I believe that buying groceries, cups of coffee etc. will be the function of altcoins. It won't happen overnight, but the altcoin community that works to demystify cryptos and to simplify their use for the larger population will be the coin(s) that will be adopted for everyday trade.
Really, you are just going to spew out things like zero fees and infinite transactions with a straight face? You are acting like there aren't consequences and trade-offs to having those things. I haven't yet researched IOTA, but I know intuitively that there is ALWAYS a trade-off.
I haven't seen a full comparison of all the coins, but I haven't heard of any altcoin advertising slower or more expensive than Bitcoin. Whether its IOTA or one of the other better known alts you don't have to look too hard to find cheaper and faster. Bitcoin like the apple iPhone was revolutionary but competitors gained ground and when they are better/faster/cheaper then market leadership changes at least for the transaction space. Bitcoin has far more trust than anything else and perhaps that is enough to hang onto the reserve title. As you say there are always trade offs. Bitcoin is trusted because of its established architecture and the use of resource intensive mining but that comes at a cost that can be optimized but not removed. Tinkering with the code to make incremental improvements may undermine the one true advantage Bitcoin has ie trust but is unlikely to beat the rising competitors on speed or cost. I like and own precious metals. Gold and silver coins are more practical than bars but I still dont use them for buying stuff.
Great points.
"It is frustratingly slow." The market or transactions?
Sorry transactions. For instance Steem is very attractive right now, but to buy it using Fiat currency you still have to go through someone like Coinbase and Bitcoin. That can take days and opportunities are missed. Hence frustration. Keeping $ on the exchanges may be the answer for now but we are generally coached not to leave much sitting on the exchanges.
Make sure you are getting coached from people who understand your goals and objectives. General coaching is generally useless. Except for the totally mundane - drink more water - it is healthy and you probably are not drinking enough
Alright Dave I will bite and follow you to see who your coaches are and what they have to say. The reason that I am here in the first place is because of Palm Beach Research Group.
I have a feeling Bitcoin may simply become the store of value coin. So many other coins outperform Bitcoin in many ways, but Bitcoin still has the strongest long term holders of any coin which brings the strongest price support.
Looking forward to seeing what happens after August 1st, God willing.
I tend to agree with you as regards to bitcoin becoming a store of value mostly because of its use as a means of exchange between different currencies. The tech and ideological foundations of it will be emulated and adapted in almost any industry you can think of without requiring any kind of token or currency behind it.
You worded it perfectly "...a means of exchange between different currencies"
Considering the impact of the internet on world finance, why wouldn't bitcoin (the internets money) become a premier store of value? As long as it remains reliable, it will continue to grow.
Follow me here and on twitter for more crypto news, comments, memes, questions, and shittalking... https://twitter.com/bitchimlying
When you say reliable are you referring to the tech behind it (the blockchain) and a somewhat general consensus on the way to go from here or the fact it will have only a predefined limit of supply? So far its reliability is based on the tech and the support of the mostly tech savvy community who see its potential implications and disruptive capabilities. Do you think its price volatility is what is stopping it going more mainstream as well as the currently limited real world uses as far as using it for everyday purchases when things such as tap-and-go are already well established ?
I meant reliable in the fact that it has been up and running uniterupted 24/7 for over 8 years.
Mainstream adoption will take time. The price volatility works both for and against it. I think we will see more and more "real" use cases (there are enough already, trading it alone is a use case) in the near future.
This was surely coming. It happens in every industry. The pioneers are never the later giants. The ones that grab ideas from the pioneers and make them better are the ones that become giants. Examples of this are Google and Airbnb. I just hope Bitcoin acts fast, they are still in time.
Yep, or Myspace to Facebook...
Great example.
Luckily there are new bitcoin pioneers everyday. Being open source allows it to adapt, but that can also create negative issues. However I don't think bitcoin will ever go the way of myspace. It will remain a premier cryptocurrency for quite some time in my opinion.