I recall and old bounty lingering on Compuserv for a decentralized digital banking system. Satoshi must of seen this (go back to the early 90s).
All currencies are going to adopt the model just like Ecuador, at some point. But there will be a war in some fashion, a revolt from the banks because digital currency fucks them over in one absolutely delicious way.
You can't append a bank IOU to the blockchain. No more Fraction Reserve Banking. No more triple spending the national currency to death.
I have already begun to model how coining and a blockchain can play an integral roll in security networks like VoIP and PCI Compliance.
Digital currency is a lot bigger than most people think and the technology is here to stay.
Just thoughts...
Just because an IOU can't exist in the blockchain doesn't mean it can't exist at all. Banks don't actually print dollar bills, they "create" money by loaning it out. The same works with Bitcoin. New Bitcoins don't have to be created for new Bitcoins to be "created."