While bitcoin's underlying technology is ingenious, technology alone is rarely enough for mainstream success. Many superior technologies have failed to reach critical mass for various reasons. Marketing, community culture, and timing/luck seem to play big roles as well.

For example, Betamax offered better video quality than VHS tapes back in the 1980s, but it lost out due to factors like Sony's licensing policies and VHS's savvy marketing. The Apple Newton PDA in the 1990s was technologically advanced but failed partly due to its high price, limited functionality for the time, and poor handwriting recognition. More recently, Pebble's innovative smartwatches lost momentum after the Apple Watch arrived with stronger brand recognition and marketing clout.