Quote from: TeeBone on March 26, 2014, 07:20:02 AM

You forgot the most important property - scarcity. Gazillions of crypto 'currencies' can be created at basically no cost, having identical properties and serving the same function as bitcoin. Infinite digits on a computer screen, yeah sounds a little like the USD.
Gold on the other hand is limited in supply and unique in color, shine and other physical properties.

No other coin can be Bitcoin, though, in the same way that tungsten isn't gold. Bitcoin has its own data, its own protections, and its own rules. You can't create an infinite supply of bitcoins (that is, you can't print yourself to a higher %total ownership), and I don't think you can lump all cryptocurrencies together for the same reason we don't lump all metal together. They all have unique properties and uses.
The value of money should remain stable, but the value of bitcoins is unstable.