Bitcoin is doomed to fail, Edward Hadas writes in the New York Times today (A Prediction: Bitcoin Is Doomed to Fail). He writes (emphasis is mine):
the monetary philosophy behind this web-based phenomenon can be traced back to one of the oldest theories of money.
I get the same shiver down my spine when someone says Bitcoin is web-based as I get when someone says Tim Berners-Lee invented the Internet.
Note to pundits: Bitcoin is Internet based. Tim Berners-Lee invented the Web. The two are not the same thing.
Bitcoin may fail and it may succeed and the author may well have a point. But I am tempted to disregard any predictions about Bitcoin from someone who doesn’t get that basic fact right.