bitcoin is not build to prohibit this. but to encourage. it may have build from mostly USD direction roots. but technically it is like the principle of a template.
I did not name USD instead of GBP just because it seemed to me it will clearer. Similarly, you cannot send USD over the bitcoin blockchain without first finding the appropriate intermediaries. It's just that there will be more intermediaries for USD, so I chose to take as an example a popular currency, for which, however, there will be fewer intermediaries.
Yes, I agree that you cannot transfer arbitrary money or assets through the Bitcoin system. The only way one can transfer value through the Bitcoin system is via Bitcoin. Hence my thinking is that Bitcoin is the only truly decentralized internet money protocol, and that transfer of value through this protocol can only occur via Bitcoin, whereby Bitcoin acts as the transfer medium for the protocol, say similar to data packets for TCP/IP.
I also agree that comparing data transfer protocols with the Bitcoin protocol is technically different things. Here my thought is that there hasn't really been any money protocol for the internet until Bitcoin that is decentralized and secure, and hence it would be difficult to compare existing data protocols with the Bitcoin protocol.
Regarding British pounds as an example, I think that demand for British pounds relative to Bitcoin will reduce over time as Bitcoin price discovery further matures and stabilises at a stable price range at some point in the future, at which Bitcoin could be used as a medium of exchange and possibly unit of account. If that occurs then there would be no need for British Pounds, or a relatively stable exchange rate between British Pounds and Bitcoin may exist.
I'm finding it quite challenging, fun and interesting to think about what Bitcoin really is. So far I've landed on Bitcoin being a multiple things... money that serves as store of value with soon to be the highest stock-to-flow ratio that has ever existed, medium of exchange in the future, unit of account in the future, the only secure and decentralized network for money and the only internet money protocol.
I also agree that comparing data transfer protocols with the Bitcoin protocol is technically different things. Here my thought is that there hasn't really been any money protocol for the internet until Bitcoin that is decentralized and secure, and hence it would be difficult to compare existing data protocols with the Bitcoin protocol.
Regarding British pounds as an example, I think that demand for British pounds relative to Bitcoin will reduce over time as Bitcoin price discovery further matures and stabilises at a stable price range at some point in the future, at which Bitcoin could be used as a medium of exchange and possibly unit of account. If that occurs then there would be no need for British Pounds, or a relatively stable exchange rate between British Pounds and Bitcoin may exist.
I'm finding it quite challenging, fun and interesting to think about what Bitcoin really is. So far I've landed on Bitcoin being a multiple things... money that serves as store of value with soon to be the highest stock-to-flow ratio that has ever existed, medium of exchange in the future, unit of account in the future, the only secure and decentralized network for money and the only internet money protocol.
It seems to me that the problem is just that you are trying to compare things that are different in meaning. The data transfer protocols you cite are inherently not decentralized. And there are quite a lot of centralized systems for transferring various money via the Internet or in other ways.
Bitcoin is a separate system. And yes, the key thing in it in this regard is, in my opinion, decentralization. Unlike communication protocols, no one on one of the nodes in the chain will filter and replace your transaction, etc. And, perhaps, you should not try to compare bitcoin with completely different systems in terms of how they work. In the sense that similar features may turn out to be signs of something completely different from what they seem.
And yes, I agree that understanding what bitcoin actually is, how it works, what possibilities it opens up is fascinating.
