solution to their problem. Bitcoin marketers and entrepreneurs should concentrate their efforts on micro payment problems and the associated solutions. If Bitcoin got a piece of that 40 Billion dollar
solution, we would have all benefited a lot.
No one is going to use the crime tool of Ross Ulbrich and Mark Karpeles when they can just copy the technology and develop their own closed untainted system. Companies don't need a system comprised of every smuck in the world running a home computer. Large companies already have networked computers all over the globe they can use to run a private blockchain and with Blocknet they can access any of the other company blockchains anytime they need to.
That's like saying the internet came out and IBM decided to run its own intranet. Keep in mind that IBM when it brought out the PC - used available hardware from Asia rather than developing their own - apart from the PS2 port which from what I understand was the only major innovation by IBM for the PC - apart from putting it all together. It could be using one of the blockchains as a basis for that. The internet was adopted by all and the theory with bitcoin is that likewise people will adopt it as the money equivalent of the internet.
Practically, it makes sense for them to do it. Imagine if exchanges that allowed trading bitcoin and or other crypto's was to actually use the blockchain for each trade. It would not be feasible. Every exchange uses another system which it then allows bitcoin and other crypto's to be the basis. What I can see from the OP's post is that IBM is producing something that has a specific use case such as for banks which would need a closed system - even if it was working on the dollar, even if it was working with bitcoin. It could be a problem for bitcoin, but more than likely you will find that it has a specific use case that may be needed for specific uses.
This does not mean that bitcoin is not feasible. In fact bitcoin may be more than feasible in more areas than one. I think for any organization or entity looking at what is the best technology to use for specific use cases will need to evaluate the benefits that each provides.
As a note. Bitcoin has many features and uses but it does not have certain features. Other crypto's that are not just a rehashed bitcoin but have certain features that make them valid are again not necessarily bad for bitcoin. They provide a different use case such as what we seeing Ethereum doing with smart contracts or Florin Coin with blockchain messages or DOGE coin for micro payments, bitcoin for big purchases and litecoin for every day spending.
Exactly right, it's not bad for Bitcoin. It simply means the best components of Bitcoin will be used to make trustworthy systems from reliable big names that average consumers will use. No need to trust the system that makes Bitfinex and Mt Gox possible when I can use the Blockchain from Wells Fargo.