[RRW]

Tim Lee makes what is I think the strongest case for Bitcoin, arguing that it's not just a fad, it's a disruptive technology that can serve as a platform for improving on the world's generally clunky and unpleasant payment system. The reason the payment system rarely seems to improve is that there are massive barriers to entry into it, because the nature of the banking system is that it needs a lot of security and regulation. But with Bitcoin "[b]ecause transactions are authenticated cryptographically and cannot be reversed, there’s no need to restrict access to the network," so the network can experience robust competition and rapid innovation.

He says we should think of this like PCs in 1978. People dismissed them as a random curiosity, and it's true that the PCs of 1978 were not meant for the mass market. But enthusiasts and tinkerers were able to write more and better software, driving more and better demand for computers over the years.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/...n_problem.html