The digital currency called Bitcoin may or may not survive long-term, but it has already succeeded on one front: making people think seriously about alternative forms of money. More such alternatives to traditional currency will likely emerge.

The attraction of the Bitcoin is not just the anonymity it provides to users (an anonymity that the U.S. government has alleged some users have employed for money laundering). Bitcoin is also secure against traditional forms of counterfeiting. More important, the Bitcoin is designed...