The recent discussion of butterflies/etc had me pondering the usefulness of gold, or similar commodities, used to hold value instead of currency, debt notes, or equity. I started thinking about where bitcoin might be in 20-50 years. To be clear, I'm using bitcoin with a small "b" here mean to the general idea of a fungible currency that is not backed by any government or commodity, is usable worldwide, and has almost-no drag. I do not literally mean Bitcoin big "B" the crypto-currency available right now, though Bitcoin might end up being the thing I'm musing about.
Gold seems like an anachronism now. Government-backed currencies and sovereign debt bear the risks of those governments and their economies. Other basic commodities have huge transaction drag. Maybe when the next generation is of investment age, everything is mobile and the whole world is connected on widely distributed networks, no one will keep their "cash" in sovereign currency/debt or commodities, but will seek inflation shelter, liquidity, and downturn-protection in a bitcoin-like digital currency?
Whatever, my random thought last night. I'm not putting any of my money in bitcoin, or Bitcoin, just abstractly thinking of more efficient future worlds....your thoughts?