Whether they realize it or not, their "sidechains will kill altcoins" argument actually highlights one of Bitcoin's central flaws: slow innovation. The very fact that Bitcoiners want to add sidechains means that there are properties of altcoins that they consider valuable and want to be "a part of" Bitcoin.
Absolutely.
Although sidechains are interesting technologically, they highlight the design conflicts that arise when you try to impose a technology solution to a monetary problem. For example, confidential transactions does let you cover the tracks of a particular transaction when seen from a granular perspective. But what impact does it have at a holistic monetary level ? An adverse one - majorly so - because in trying to solve a privacy problem it creates a huge fungibility problem. The logic of it is similar to washing your clothes in an acid bath to remove a coffee stain.
Take the Lightning network. Possibly good - and I hope it will drive Bitcoin to new highs once all the current shenanigans with halving etc are out of the way. But again, monetarily it's structured like a dinosaur with distinct trading and clearing layers. It may also be exactly what bitcoin DOESN'T need because Visa et al already have a perfectly good trading layer that's far more developed both functionally and commercially than Lightning.
So bitcoin has unwittingly wandered onto fiat's lawn of where it's weakest and abandoned the objective of native value, scaling, mobility and anonymity where it was strongest.
in terms of adoption for me Dash has been playing the role of a store of value much more than a payment network. I have been producing value in my professional life and storing this value in DASH instead of using a bank.
Indeed. Just to clarify - I'm not saying the community shouldn't pursue adoption opportunities where payment networks are concerned because it all helps to consolidate Dash's brand as a montary asset. I'm just saying that long term we need to see that trading currencies such as fiat are just an arbitrary denomination for the trade. You are not actually exchanging a lump of gold when buying something off Amazon. What we call "currency" is just an agreed unit with which to denominate the value of the good.
On the other hand, with monetary assets such as Bitcoin & Dash, you are actually exchanging a "lump of gold" and I don't ever see that as becoming the norm for mass commercial activity. SQL servers do it far faster and with far more versatility. Also, you need to have some kind of liquidity or "fractional reserve" characteristic to keep prices stable. (Which is why I see the Lightning Network as playing to Bitcoin's weakness and Visa's strength. On the other hand, it may let Bitcoin be used on a more industrial scale. Lets see).
Things are definitely going to get interesting from here.