and though I do see the vision and the goals - I fail to see how Bitcoin is implementing them. It is a slow, costly network that is deeply split in opinion and has no structure. Do not get me wrong - I both agree with the TimeTraveler (to some extent) and with most of the comments, but I do not see bitcoin winning the race. Why run a bitcoin node - when Dash actually incentivises you to do so? Why trade bitcoin if the transaction costs are at 20$ right now and transaction times +60 minutes? Also, the "hash-flash" after the segwit2x cancellation (30% of the hashrate moved to Bitcoin cash) shows that the system might not be as decentralised as we all think, there are big mainly Asian clusters - the mining isn't decentralised that is for sure. Implementing a "central" entity to ease the burden of the Bitcoin blockchain -in my opinion- goes against everything that Bitcoin should stand for. Finally, but this is a downside many cryptos share: Proof of work! Even Visa and Deutsche Bank (some would say the evilest company in the world) process your transactions at a lower environmental impact.

@ana-maria - you wrote a lovely article that was very inspiring, but you wrote about a product (bitcoin - not blockchain nor cryptos!!!) that I think has no future. I am not hating - I am just pointing out that we need to reach the next step in our journey, Bitcoin got us this far, but it is time to mature and move on to a currency that works in the spirit of Bitcoin.