Crypto note coins, built in decentralized coin join implementations, stealth addresses implementations, and Zerocoin - Improve financial privacy and protect the end users from the dangers of poor financial privacy practices. Sure, Bitcoin can do some of the things I mentioned but they are not done by default and built into the client. Some people will never fully understand the dangers of poor financial privacy practices, so it is best that the protocol forces them to do it. Most Bitcoin implementations of these technologies require trusted third parties since they are not built directly into the protocol, and/or are not done automatically.
The blockchain as it is now provides a certain level of transparency that is not available with zerocoin. Your argument is that you want to protect people from themselves. However they have the right to make their own choices regarding privacy.
I understand the want to prove a transaction took place, and that is why I included multiple technologies in my statement, I am not sure why you picked Zerocoin as the only answer to improve privacy. You can prove in an audit or whatever that certain transactions took place with stealth addresses, ring signatures, and coin join implementations. You can also make them optional features.
Aliases - making it easy to send and receive currency without the need for long nonsensical addresses. Again, it is possible for Bitcoin to implement this but most solutions I've seen rely on trusted third parties and.are not automatically done within the client.
This contradicts your above point. This is also horribly insecure and opens up a lot of possible scams. (people could make an alias that is similar to a major merchant or to a charity and get a lot of scamcoins as a result).
You have a point about insecurity/scams, but I think a certain balance can be made there.. For instance along with having an alias having a SHORT string before or after it that is generated automatically and the user cannot control. This would give added security, and I think there are ways to implement it that highlight benefits and limit the negatives.
However, the use of aliases does not contradict my point for the need for more privacy, as stealth addresses, ring signatures, and coin join implementations can still be used.
Confirmation speeds - Some alts have been redesigned from the ground up to incur quicker block times faster than Bitcoin could without being completely redesigned. Some go much further than simply changing a line of code like Litecoin did.
Faster confirmation speeds make the blockchain less secure. A unconfirmed transaction with bitcoin would be more secure then a 1 confirmation transaction with a 1 minute confirmation blockchain (this assumes that the hashrate is the same between the two blockchains, however miners would almost certainly favor the 10 minute blockchain due to a more acceptable expected value of orphans).
Quicker block times make the Blockchain less secure... Only in the way Bitcoin has implemented it. So, although it is true the coins that just copy Bitcoin and speed up the block times... Their confirmations are less secure yes.chowever, some alt coins have completely redesigned this and have quicker block times that share the same security of a Bitcoin transaction, in some cases even more.
Block chain bloat - By using ledgers and truncating the block chain after it reaches a certain size, some crypto have dramatically reduced the amount of data one would need.to download to run a full node, making it more likely people will do so.
bitcoin is not at the point now that this is necessary. Most nodes are run on some kind of server withe the ability to easily and quickly download the blockchain.
Bitcoin may not be at the point where it is needed, but as someone that prefers to run a full node on his desktop, I can see how this would be a huge benefit. The Bitcoin block chain takes forever to download and sync, and it will only get worse. There are alternative clients which solve this in various ways, but it should be a built in feature to the official client.
Reducing exposure to volatility - Through the use.of decentralized assets that are market pegged to more stable currencies through a decentralized free market, allowing people to hedge against bubbles in a decentralized manner without trusted third parties and allowing the the benefits of cryptocurrency in the former of a stable currency.
This would not be an altcoin, it would be an IOU for the asset that backs the altcoin.
I doubt you're familiar with BitsharesX, but you should look into how they've implemented it in a trustless manner. FIAT and commodity side chains are built into the client and you can trade them on a decentralized market in the client. The FIAT and commodities are backed by the Cryptocurrency as collateral is held. The price is determined on the free market by people going short and long on assets. This is IMO one of the biggest innovations in the cryptocoin space in quite some time.
The decentralized exchange of commodities which are also market pegged to the value of those commodities through a decentralized exchange without the need.of trusted.third parties
I am not sure I follow this but I am sure (based on your other arguments) that it is a bad idea
You don't understand it, but you assume it's a bad idea. Mmmmk lol. How about you educate yourself before judging an idea. Research BitSharesX.
Decentralized asset exchanges which make it easy to receive funding for ideas and businesses without the regulations, taxes, and paperwork the legacy security system requires.
All of the above are good for an economy in small, healthy amounts. If you were to have zero of the above then you would have an economy full of scams and streets full of "danger"/violent crime
This is assuming that we need governments to hold our hands while investing, and it cannot be done any other way. Whenever you put the government in control of anything they always find ways to screw it up . In this case through convoluted application processes, expensive paperwork and legal fees, and onerous taxes. Go see how expensive it is to start a security and get investors on your own... I guess you prefer the rich get richer and the middle class and lower class stay where they are at indefintely?
Truly deflationary cryptocoins - Whereas Bitcoin will be inflationary well past our entire lives, and the value of which is sustained through the inflow of new money into the ecosystem
the only people who think deflation is a good thing in an economy does not have a good understanding of economics
Deflation is a good thing when it comes to a store of value. The fact it can double as a checking account is just the icing on top.
Decentralized data storage - protecting our data and privacy better than trusted third parties can.
Decentralized programming languages - making it easier to program decentralized programs and services, lessening humanity's need to trust third parties.
A lot of things can be decentralized through the use.of block chain technologies and I'm not going to list them all.
it is not always best to have all functions decentralized. Sometimes it is good to have some central authority that can make changes based on the environment
I can't believe someone in Bitcoinland is promoting the use of trusted third parties. I guess you will learn your lesson one day...
I'm not sure what you mean about "make changes based on the environment."