There's also the problem with Bitcoin of inflation. Yes, there's a fixed amount of Bitcoins qua Bitcoin, but anyone can create alternative cryptocurrencies. I don't see why Bitcoin has any unique features that cannot be replicated by others, and therefore you will create massive inflation in a digital coin space.
Despite my annoyance at ignorant people demanding that we spend our time to cure their ignorance, I would like to address this point.
My response is simply that every kind of money can be replicated by another kind of money. This issue should be not considered a problem for Bitcoin for the same reasons it is not considered a problem for other currencies. Any fiat currency can be replicated by creating another fiat currency, and anybody can create a fiat currency. The dollar can be replicated by anyone simply by issuing their own fiat currency and changing the name, yet this problem with the dollar and every other currency is conveniently overlooked when it is applied to Bitcoin. Mr. Pot, I would like to introduce you to Mr. Kettle.
The claim is that because anyone can make an
exact replica of Bitcoin, the thousands of replicas will make the original worthless. However, the flaw in this argument is that you cannot make an exact replica of Bitcoin. Each form of money has its own characteristics whether they are imbued by its creators or they arise out of its usage. There are characteristics of Bitcoin that cannot easily be replicated, including the infrastructure that has been built around it, the name, the public perception, and even the people that use it.
The final proof against this claim is simply in the hundreds of Bitcoin clones that already exist. If the weakness of Bitcoin's reproducibility were true, then Bitcoin should be worthless by now. In fact, Bitcoin is unaffected and remains king while the rest are insignificant in comparison.