Thanks for this interesting thread.

Maybe it's just because it's late and I need to get to sleep, but I feel like after reading this and other threads I'm more confused about how bitcoin will coexist with ripple. I came to this forum because I was interested in learning more about ripple. Personally I don't have too much use for bitcoin as it is currently implemented, but perhaps one day I might see the value in it. However, if ripple were to become widespread, why would I hold bitcoins when I could just hold xrp? I've read your explanation as to how the two can coexist, but it seems like that explanation is predicated upon the assumption that the person would see a value to holding wealth in bitcoin. I can't think of a situation where that might be true for a newcomer to cryptocurrencies. Can you provide an example? If you already did and I just didn't read carefully enough, I apologize. I'll go back and try to find an explanation.