Yes. It is inevitable, since it’s a cheaper, faster, safer, decentralized and deflationary alternative to fiat currencies like euros and dollars.
It’s what e-mail was to physical mail.
Everything in life eventually will always choose the path of least resistance, or of most efficiency.
For a worldwide economy, it is the solution. No need for exchanges, and send funds instantly wherever. The many different cryptocurrencies, makes us have a different view of money. Till now, must of us were used to one kind of currency that we use in our everyday lives. Only financial markets traders, had a view where they could use many different currencies. With cryptocurrency, anyone can use one or more of the available cryptocurrencies, as they choose.
Therefore cryptocurrencies will become the standard.
I would say that cryptocurrency or more accurately public blockchains will be a paradigm shifting technology that will change the concept of commerce and redefine payment mechanisms, I will not go so far as to say that fiat currency or tokens or whatever, do not have their place as well.
It is an incredibly complex and nuanced question and the world is diverse and vast. The only thing I can say with certainty is that people tend to overestimate the change that is possible in 5 years and underestimate the change that will take place over 50 years. That is human nature.
I will also say that no matter how hard governements push back, public blockchain is here to stay. You CANNOT close Pandora’s box after it is open. But look inside, see there at the bottom? Yes, that is hope left inside. It is the hope that overall we are moving towards a better world!
A deep and comprehensive forecaste for the future of money would need to look beyond the decentralisaton and encryption features of money, and would also need to examine the unit of account, the social agreememts and the value context. The future, if civilisation is to have one, will be found in services that create sustainability and regeneration. And so there is your answer…
Crypto/Bitcoin enthusiasts often focus on the technology, but technology alone does not address the question adequately.
The fatherhood of all cryptocurrencies is Bitcoin and a few more are worth talking about and considering for payments. Some are used in small communities for convenience purposes (to eliminate complicated taxation and accounting).
There are currently more than 170 cryptocurrencies now. (If you want to check them all out on one page with their live market values compared to US dollar, go to: www.coinmarketcap.com
Out of all these 170 currencies, i personally think Steem and Ethereum will be the only ones used.
Why not bitcoin? both of them have improved security as well as tons of improved features like fast and cheaper transactions. From a common sense perspective, if you just created a cryptocurrency because you looked at the success of bitcoin, the only purpose you will be having is to increase its market value to be the primary cryptocurrency instead of bitcoin. For that purpose , you need more and more people using your cryptocurrency. Any disruptive way you can engage people in your currency while making them feel natural using it? Steem and Ethereum give you the best answers: Steemit and Akasha. So genius. But which one of them, time will tell. Or maybe you can predict today by commenting below. Maybe you are right. :-)
For a better vision, Start reading white paper for Bitcoin and then go from that to other cryptocurrencies. This might be a time consuming task but if you want to go beyond this answer, only the comparison of their white papers will tell you what the collective nature of our 'currently' aware global population will adopt.