Does bitcoin improve on "hard" currencies in any way? Question is in the title. Anyone who's toyed sufficiently long enough on the foreign exchange understands that currencies are largely driven by sentiment or manipulated on the odd occasion. Plus, there's the fact that money has no intrinsic value. Has bitcoin overcome any shortfalls and risks of conventional currencies ?
There are huge differences between FIAT and Bitcoin.

Fiat is created out of thin air "with fractional reserve banking" and other mechanisms, there is no stop on how many will be created.

Another problem is that every country is FORCED to create more of it.
Since otherwise the value of their money would increase to much, ending all export industry and tourism in that country. 

So when the US prints an extreme amounts of FIAT they know that China must follow, which means that Japan must follow and the US must print more, and so it goes on.

Bitcoin can not be created out of thin air, and it takes an ever increasing energy cost to create one.

And since no country base their economy on it, its free from having to be endlessly printed. (It can´t even if it would be.)

Another very important difference is that Bitcoin is the only digital money you can own yourself with no one else having any access, and thus keep on your own computer or in your own cellphone or store on a USB the key to your money.

All other digital money, is money that is stuck in a bank and thus they might play around with it and go bankrupt. 

But a Bitcoin is a Bitcoin and not simply a promise in their system.
This also means that you can send them any time of the day instantly to anyone you like now even on Facebook or in emails.

The limited amount also gives it a longterm backing in that if it picks up in any market, it cant stay this low and will have to go much much higher, a value of something like $50-$5000 would not be strange in 10-20 years IMO.