"On the other hand, we need computers, and the method will convince only those that trust both math and the computer they use." https://crypto.stackexchange.com/questions/64437/what-is-a-pedersen-commitment#64443 Not a cryptographer, but the math behind is not so difficult. But as the commentor of the link wrote. There is trust involved in math and in the machine you use. I'd suggest you to talk ti some of the cryptographers you'll find in the Monero community. For some use cases it is not acceptable to trust, in that cases Bitcoin is preferable over Monero. For other use cases the trust is acceptable. Most Monero supporters also have been early Bitcoiners. Therefore hold huge bags of both coins. Would I ever consider to spend Bitcoin without going through Monero first? No, because I don't know the future and how the future dictators will treat my financial past. Do I treat Bitcoin as a store of value. Yes. By the way. Monero is a rather stable coin, like you'd expect from a currency.