Conclusion

Supporters of Bitcoin (and its spiritual successors) are split over whether to seek acceptance, respectability, and recognition from traditional financial institutions, or to take the Bitcoin concept further by ensuring even greater anonymity for its users, and thus likely entering into conflict with already alarmed governments who seek ways to control and regulate the new currencies.

Fortunately for the pro-anonymity faction, cryptcurrencies are basically just mathematical algorithms, and are therefore almost impossible to control (and the more anonymous they are, the more difficult they are to control), and in a world where many desire or require an electronic equivalent to used bank notes, the demand for anonymous  cryptocurrencies is almost guaranteed to ensure their success.

We are entering a new era of civilization where the economic instruments of power that have always been the exclusive preserve of rulers and governments are now becoming decentralized and democratized. The effects of this are likely to be far ranging and profound, perhaps ultimately representing an economic shift as dramatic as the invention of banking, or even money itself.

Time will tell, but the pioneering ideas discussed above are parts of what is likely to be very important story.