The idea that Bitcoin is superior to government-issued fiat is based on a few myths.

Myth #1: Bitcoin cannot be created "out of thin air"

This is not true. More coins can be created if a significant number of users (either the economic majority or the majority of the mining hash power) decide that it's good for the system. Given the history of all money, it is almost guaranteed that this will happen. It is the same as government-issued paper. Remember, the US dollar was once linked to gold, and apparently could not be created out of thin air. When rules are made by humans, the rules can be changed.

A separate but related point: nothing prevents Bitcoin from being levered like fractional reserve banking. See how gold ETFs work. Gold cannot be created out of thin air (even if everyone agrees!), but you can create paper on top of it.

Myth #2: Bitcoin is decentralized and not controlled by any single authority

Again, this is not true. Bitcoin does have an informal system of governance. A few people do make decisions on behalf of everyone else. This is just like a democratically elected government, except that it isn't democratically elected (so it's a "benevolent dictatorship"). It's very much like a central bank that decides which banks are bailed out and which banks are allowed to fail (see: 2008 financial crisis), who gets to keep their money and who loses theirs.

It's easier for the miners to tax your bitcoins than it is for the government to tax your dollars (see: Cyprus depositor tax).

Myth #3: Bitcoin cannot be counterfeited

It is trivial for anyone to create an implementation of the Bitcoin design (PDF) and call it "Bitcoin." For example, you could create an alternative version of the design with a upper limit of 42 million coins instead of the current 21 million, with faster transaction processing. Incidentally, this is exactly what Litecoin does. Litecoin could just call itself "Bitcoin" and it would be legitimate, because it does follow exactly the design laid out in the Bitcoin white paper. Therefore any number of Bitcoin clones can legitimately call themselves "Bitcoin" as long as they follow the white paper (this is how it's supposed to work), and therefore in a sense there can be any amount of "counterfeit" Bitcoin currency in circulation.

If you had an agreement with someone to pay you in bitcoins for a service you provided them, and they paid you in "counterfeit" bitcoins (which are as real as yours), there would be a dispute that would have to be settled in court. This is why Bitcoin is a caveat emptor system.

On the other hand, if you paid someone in bitcoins and they claimed them as fake, you couldn't prove it, because they could legitimately claim to have expected to receive a different kind of bitcoins. In this case you would lose your money and get nothing for it in return.

The idea that Bitcoin is superior to government-issued fiat is based on a few myths.

Myth #1: Bitcoin cannot be created "out of thin air"

This is not true. More coins can be created if a significant number of users (either the economic majority or the majority of the mining hash power) decide that it's good for the system. Given the history of all money, it is almost guaranteed that this will happen. It is the same as government-issued paper. Remember, the US dollar was once linked to gold, and apparently could not be created out of thin air. When rules are made by humans, the rules can be changed.

A separate but related point: nothing prevents Bitcoin from being levered like fractional reserve banking. See how gold ETFs work. Gold cannot be created out of thin air (even if everyone agrees!), but you can create paper on top of it.

Myth #2: Bitcoin is decentralized and not controlled by any single authority

Again, this is not true. Bitcoin does have an informal system of governance. A few people do make decisions on behalf of everyone else. This is just like a democratically elected government, except that it isn't democratically elected (so it's a "benevolent dictatorship"). It's very much like a central bank that decides which banks are bailed out and which banks are allowed to fail (see: 2008 financial crisis), who gets to keep their money and who loses theirs.

It's easier for the miners to tax your bitcoins than it is for the government to tax your dollars (see: Cyprus depositor tax).

Myth #3: Bitcoin cannot be counterfeited

It is trivial for anyone to create an implementation of the Bitcoin design (PDF) and call it "Bitcoin." For example, you could create an alternative version of the design with a upper limit of 42 million coins instead of the current 21 million, with faster transaction processing. Incidentally, this is exactly what Litecoin does. Litecoin could just call itself "Bitcoin" and it would be legitimate, because it does follow exactly the design laid out in the Bitcoin white paper. Therefore any number of Bitcoin clones can legitimately call themselves "Bitcoin" as long as they follow the white paper (this is how it's supposed to work), and therefore in a sense there can be any amount of "counterfeit" Bitcoin currency in circulation.

If you had an agreement with someone to pay you in bitcoins for a service you provided them, and they paid you in "counterfeit" bitcoins (which are as real as yours), there would be a dispute that would have to be settled in court. This is why Bitcoin is a caveat emptor system.

On the other hand, if you paid someone in bitcoins and they claimed them as fake, you couldn't prove it, because they could legitimately claim to have expected to receive a different kind of bitcoins. In this case you would lose your money and get nothing for it in return.