And thanks to side-chains, which Blockstream and others are working on, you can add arbitrary functionality on top of Bitcoin while still maintaining the benefits of having its large secure network.<p>In my view, anything using blockchain technology that isn&#x27;t actually using Bitcoin&#x27;s blockchain is a nonstarter.  It&#x27;s a fundamental misunderstanding of what Bitcoin&#x27;s strengths are.  It&#x27;d be like trying to come out with a new model of car that can&#x27;t run on the existing roads (which actually has instructive parallels to the complete failure of earlier self-driving car attempts of the 60s that needed specialized roads).