What if Bitcoin Had Never Been Created?

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stacksatsHero Member
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#1Jul 20, 2020, 07:37 AM
Hey everyone, happy easter! I've been thinking about this lately. Can you even picture a world without Bitcoin? It’s hard to believe how much it’s changed our perspective on money and decentralization. What if it never existed? Would another crypto have taken its place, or would we still be stuck in a centralized financial system?
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0xRav3nNewbie
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#2Jul 20, 2020, 09:47 AM
Maybe we would be seeing something like e-coin or binarycoin. Satoshi wasn’t some tech genius; he just took existing ideas and refined them. The real lesson is about having the determination and drive. If he hadn’t stepped up, who knows how long we’d have waited for something like Bitcoin.
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#3Jul 20, 2020, 01:19 PM
Totally agree, we’d probably have similar concepts but under different names. But I don’t think we’d go straight to government-controlled crypto since those have been around for a while. I mean, I was using apps to stash my cash before Bitcoin was even a thing. Someone would have to create a solution to prevent double-spending.
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alexsatNewbie
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#4Jul 20, 2020, 01:47 PM
A proof of stake coin could’ve popped up before Bitcoin for sure. But I feel like someone would’ve connected the dots sooner or later. The groundwork was laid with papers like Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance back in '99.
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0xViperFull Member
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#5Jul 22, 2020, 02:29 PM
Without Bitcoin, we might just have digital payments, like those grocery store points. Bitcoin introduced a whole new concept. It’s tough to say what would dominate today. Maybe we’d be stuck with projects like Liberty Reserve or e-gold, which were just scams waiting to happen.
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0xRocketMember
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#6Jul 22, 2020, 03:56 PM
You know those digital wallets from tech giants? They’d probably fill the gap if Bitcoin wasn’t around. Thank goodness for Bitcoin, or we’d all be stuck with restrictive services like PayPal.
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dave.forkMember
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#7Jul 22, 2020, 10:14 PM
I can see a scenario where someone less capable than Satoshi would’ve tried to create a coin, but it wouldn’t have been catastrophic. The market evolves; it would’ve found the next best alternative.
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wagmiNewbie
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#8Jul 23, 2020, 12:21 AM
Exactly! Even if it wasn’t perfect initially, crypto would adapt. But Satoshi really nailed the fundamentals, which is why Bitcoin holds its spot at the top.
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#9Jul 23, 2020, 02:12 AM
That’s a big ‘what if’ for sure. I can't imagine there wouldn’t be a push for decentralization if Bitcoin hadn’t come along. There would still be coins created, just maybe by someone with a different vision.
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ben_alphaMember
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#10Jul 25, 2020, 12:45 PM
Who knows what would’ve happened? A vacant spot tends to get filled. Maybe something similar to Bitcoin would’ve emerged but under a different name. But let’s face it, most of today’s crypto was inspired by Bitcoin.
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0xFarmFull Member
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#11Jul 25, 2020, 03:56 PM
For sure! If Bitcoin never existed, I’m convinced some brilliant minds would’ve created something similar due to tech progress. Satoshi just beat them to it, plain and simple.
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viper404Full Member
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#12Jul 25, 2020, 06:31 PM
There were tons of Ponzi schemes around when Bitcoin started. If it hadn’t shown up, we might still be stuck in that mess. Bitcoin was the first real cryptocurrency; everything else came after.
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hypernovaFull Member
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#13Jul 25, 2020, 09:34 PM
Back in 2009, I was too young to grasp it all. But I remember asking smart folks what new money-making opportunities they saw. One wise entrepreneur mentioned a new tech merging finance and IT would emerge.
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serHero Member
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#14Jul 26, 2020, 12:40 AM
It’s a tough question without a clear answer. There might have been no crypto at all, or maybe someone would have invented something close to Bitcoin but not as well executed.
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stack42Newbie
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#15Jul 26, 2020, 05:59 AM
It’s all speculation. If Bitcoin was a no-show, who knows if anyone would have come up with a decentralized approach? Maybe we’d just see a bunch of failed attempts.
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b3ar69Full Member
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#16Jul 26, 2020, 08:54 PM
Good point! Without Bitcoin, we might end up with a centralized system where people have less anonymity and trust. It could’ve turned into a nightmare.
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stacksatsHero Member
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#17Jul 29, 2020, 06:27 AM
Pretty much! Bitcoin is the foundation of all crypto. Without it, there might not even be an interest in digital currencies today.
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lynx2021Member
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#18Jul 29, 2020, 10:35 AM
Honestly, asking these ‘what if’ questions feels pointless. Even if Satoshi hadn’t created Bitcoin, someone else would’ve stepped up eventually. That’s just how innovation works.
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byte_2015Member
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#19Jul 29, 2020, 01:17 PM
Imagining a world without Bitcoin is tough. If it hadn’t existed, we might’ve seen more centralized financial systems with less privacy, similar to what we had before.
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#20Jul 29, 2020, 04:59 PM
It’s not just the name Bitcoin that makes it unique. It’s the whole structure and principles behind it. If someone else named a similar system Bitcoin, it likely wouldn’t have gained the same traction.
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