Topic: Is competition healthy for Bitcoin? - page 3. (Read 11322 times)

It is not faster. This is a myth.

The reason you wait 1 hour is because you want to make sure there are sufficient computations behind your transaction that the chance of it being reverted is low. If you want the same security with Litecoin, you need the same number of computations, not the same number of confirmations. That is, it takes just as long (assuming the hash rate is the same, long if it's less).

Aren't you confusing 2 different concepts?
Sure, an attack on the network could orphan an hour's worth of transactions.
But normal orphaning (due to questionable non-clocked, non-deterministic design choices of both LTC and BTC) seems much more likely.

LTC is better in that it is FASTER. I hate having to wait 1 hour to send coins. Litecoin is super fast. go get a cup of coffee come back and its transferred.

Honestly Litecoin is ridiculous, Its no better then Bitcoin and just something that will sidetrack the Bitcoin economy. Im sure the creator is sitting on Billions of Litecoins so if the price does ever achieve something hes a millionare.

I have yet to hear this theory articulated by anyone who doesn't have a conflict of interests in this area. Nor has anyone ever been able to give me an example in the real world where making a service deliberately less useful causes its value to increase.

Well, this would make the telephone calls extremely valuable

A better analogy would be a telephone network that only allows a global maximum of 10 calls to take place at any given moment and refuses to increase capacity no matter how many subscribers it has or how much they are willing to pay to make a call.

Bitcoins have no value to someone who isn't actually able to use them, just like a telephone isn't useful if you can't actually call anybody.

Exactly! If it gets too popular, nobody will want to use it. Just like restaurants that are so crowded you can't even get a table -- nobody goes to those.

Why would people invest in a crypto-currency that can't even run it's own network and approve transactions? If it got to the point where the transaction list was so far backlogged that people could't even spend their money, I'd say that crypto-currency has pretty much failed.

Why would people invest in a crypto-currency that can't even run it's own network and approve transactions? If it got to the point where the transaction list was so far backlogged that people could't even spend their money, I'd say that crypto-currency has pretty much failed.

Then BTC will become a medium of exchange that can satisfy increased transaction volume with larger and larger block size, the price stays stable. And LTC becomes a store of value that could not handle too much transaction but the price is rising 50% per month, everyone is eagerly waiting in line to get their transaction in queue 

In view of recent events I've come to the conclusion, even if it's only for the bold portion above, supporting litecoin is essential, it's similarity to Bitcoin is a stregnth not a weakness.

Yes, competition is good.  The Bitcoin community should work hard at making Bitcoin as good as it can be to ensure the network effect takes hold and makes it as difficult as possible for an alt-coin to gain market share.  This doesn't mean that an alt-coin would ultimately have to cease to exist, it just means that Bitcoin should capture the bulk of the new adopters of digital currencies such that Bitcoin enjoys a better growth rate (and hence, appreciation in value) than these competitors.  The altcoins could still exist and serve some niche markets.

Yes, but not in the way you think.  Here's some insight into our thought process on this question: Bitcoin is currently the most secure method of electronic payment on the planet.  The network of miners is what provides that security and today it vastly exceeds that of any altcoin.  Bitpay will use the most secure and private payment method available for the actual transaction.  But that doesn't mean you couldn't use Litecoin, you just need a wallet that can automatically exchange Litecoin for Bitcoin just prior to a transaction.  Should something disastrous happen with Bitcoin and Litecoin became the most secure method of payment, we would transition to using Litecoin for the payment mechanism (and then you would need to exchange your Bitcoins for Litecoins just prior to conducting the transaction).

So, when I think about Litecoin (and the other alt coins), I think of it in terms of:
- providing that competitive pressure to Bitcoin that you allude to
- being a contingency solution should something disastrous happen to Bitcoin
- being of some utility for people that might like to have transactions that aren't visible on the Bitcoin blockchain