An exclusive report from the Reserve Bank of Australia focused on cryptocurrencies show that Bitcoin is inefficient, mentioning Ripple as alternative.

The reports analyze BTC and its history. Starts with characteristics of Bitcoin, then analyze the market and the positive and negative points from the stakeholders in case they adopt cryptocurrencies.

The reports explain the differences between main virtual currencies saying that are essentially transaction ‘ledgers’ recording who has a claim to units of the currency and changes to the ownership of each currency unit. Currently, all issuers of virtual currencies are non-government entities and virtual currencies are not considered legal tender in any jurisdiction. Virtual currencies can be classified based on two aspects:

1. their interaction with ‘real’ national currencies and the real economy(i.e.

how you obtain the currency and what you purchase with it)

2. how transactions within the virtual currency system are processed

(i.e. updating and maintaining the ledger)

Bitcoin can be characterised as both an alternative to national currencies and as a payment system. As a payment system, Bitcoin appears to involve an inefficient use of resources, but has some benefits for end-users […] The system also has the potential to pose a number of risks and concerns for policymakers. Although the international community has recently given some consideration to Bitcoin’s regulatory status.

In the end, the reports suggest some of Bitcoin competitors, including Ripple and authors affirm Ripple (XRP), appears to be the Bitcoin alternative getting the most publicity although it is not yet in operation.