Bitcoin Forum

What if Bitcoin was simply the worldwide global currency?   The thing you could use anywhere you travel right alongside that given country's existing fiat?
A bad comparison:  You can use that country's cash if you want, or you can use Visa anywhere in the world.

Wouldn't that be a more realistic future for Bitcoin? 

Very much so. In fact I strongly suspect Bitcoin will end up complementing rather than replacing fiat currencies and the fiat banking system.

Do cell phones really need to replace home phones?

Agreed i believe bitcoin should be more supported. But also aware it's not easy to be accepted currency.  Everyday more people using bitcoin remember the early days of credit card. only few shop has credit card option. As time passes the number increased and now all have this plastics...

Touche!

However ... cell phones didn't mean the end of government control over a major element of every society.

Bitcoin would.

If Governments knew that Bitcoin wasn't going to overthrow their power, they'd probably much more inclined to let it flourish.

And with a worldwide fiat market value of 70 Trillion ... BTC could reach a similar market cap, as it would be used just as much, if not more, giving a per-BTC value of $3 million (as per calculations in another thread).

-B-

As long as we are moving in the right direction - ie Bitcoin becoming more widely used - then we needn't worry about what happens eventually.

Moving in small steps is definitely the way to go.

Bitcoin replacing fiat currency would force governments to change; it would not eliminate governments. 

Humanity has used gold and gold-backed currencies for thousands of years, and governments managed just fine.  Bitcoin is simply a new take of gold--designed for the Information Age.  It's only been the last 100 years that we've had the fiat system where governments could easily inflate the money supply to paper over spending problems. 

If bitcoin becomes a dominant currency, yeah, there might be some "friction" during the transition, but in the end we'd still have government and taxes and all the rest.  But the people of the world would regain financial freedom, and the unbound growth of bureaucracy and regulation would be curtailed.

I personally don't see bitcoin replacing fiat, especially since you need fiat to purchase bitcoins (for the most part). i do see bitcoin functioning very nicely side by side with fiat currencies around the world though. i don't view it as an either or, i think both can exist and both will exist together.

Bitcoin will not replace fiat, no matter how popular it becomes. However, there is a possibility that it will replace payment processors like Paypal and remittance providers such as Western Union.

Bitcoin does not replace fiat. Bitcoin allows people to escape from fiat.

Some might believe that most of the population is very happy with fiat. They don't mind their purchasing power draining away over time, they enjoy restrictions on how they are allowed to use their currency, nothing pleases them more than having their bank accounts confiscated at the whim of distant politicians and used to bail out politically privileged groups.

If you believe that, there's no reason for Bitcoin to continue to grow.

On the other hand, if it turns out that most people don't actually enjoy those things then they will flee in ever larger numbers as alternatives to fiat become increasingly credible until nobody uses government-issued currencies any more.

It doesn't "have" to. It can work perfectly well as a compliment.

Government won't allow it to happen. Pure and simple. AKA China/India and soon to follow others.

If government gets in the way of the world, side with the world.

Thumbs up.

The majority of people DGAF about bitcoin and it honestly does very little to help the average person(besides confuse them).

To the normal person who is scared of new things, they will never use it. EVER.

When I figured out that it couldnt replace government issued fiat I was no longer interested, I am personally not interested in working side by side with the state.

I got involved with bitcoin to change the way the world works not to give existing financial institutions a new tool.

Bitcoin became worthless to me when I realized it couldnt change the existing paradigm, but the speculators is this community are not driven by ideology, other than personal enrichment.    

First World Problem

It would help me immensely if you would state your age.

No, not bitcoin. But a superior version of it (Not created yet) hopefully will replace all fiat currencies in the future.

Whats happening right now is akin to very young markets in their experimental stages. There is alot of experimenting going on with new coins being made and generally you're looking at a growing market. Hold nearly any alt coin for a year and most likely you're going to see a gain. This is a very nice time to be in the crypto market.

Remember, that everything is new at some point. I'm going to bring up Paypal. They were new when they first started and a lot of people didn't want to use them because they were sceptical. However, after time it becomes one of the most popular services used. Of course, some people are still sceptical.

As long as Bitcoin is presented in a good way and has enough tutorials and guidance and most importantly gets enough positive media attention then people will start to get interested.

fiat is fucked up, but i think those who believe BTC will supplant fiat are reaching a bit far.

Great
Bitcoin will not replace Fiat these two will be supporter of eachother and Bitcoin will make easier for Global Fiat for conversion, For Transmiting and Secure Electronics Use.

Does anything really need anything else? Did you really need to stop breast feeding at 3 months? Do we really need Canadian baseball teams in MLB? Let the "free market" decide.

People's life time of work is pretty important to them. Capital controls, closure of accounts, massive inflation and thus deflation of your dollar. I think the thing that will hasten the end of fiat is when the banking cartels start using the state to persecute bitcoin. Then people will know that fiat is in real trouble and they will take the risk to maintain their life savings. People fight tooth and nail, their whole lives to get ahead, they'll risk jail to maintain their hard earned purchasing power, poor house for sure, or jail house maybe... Guess which one motivates more.

It doesn't need and probably never will completely replace fiat, nor it should.

But in some optimistic scenario of future btc could become that 'global currency' that you can use to pay transaction everywhere with ease. It really should be main aim, if anything near that is achieved, other things will sort themselves out.

Bitcoin doesn't have to replace the fiat currencies but it will because fiat currencies aren't stable to support themselves. As the Feds continue to print USD like there is no tomorrow their fiat currency has become very unstable, other countries have done the same thing and the writing is already on the wall. When the world market collapses (it could be as soon as April 2014) what other currency are they going to use? Likely they will want to use something that everyone uses around the world. It could be bitcoin or it could be some other crypto like currency they invent (so they can control it).

In the end there will be Gold, Silver, Bitcoin, and possibly another crypto currency that is regulated.

BittBurger today almost every normal person dream to see bitcoin as the globally acceptable currency while fiat currency shall crash soon due to manipulation of it by central banks. I hope we shall be able to use bitcoins everywhere in entire world and no ore fiat currency in our wallets

In a democracy, the majority opinion works, even if it is doctored. If the majority of the population views Bitcoin favorably, then nothing can stop Bitcoin. Not even the government. But as of now, a large part of the population is staying away from it, due to well known reasons (theft of coins, hacking, volatility.etc)

Only Fiat is safe, USD, RUR, YUAN, CHF, EUR, GBP, all other is shit

Well I'm convinced.

No. Fiat is not safe. A perfect example is the US Dollar. It is losing its value gradually, as the American fiscal deficit is increasing.

I agree with you, bitcoin will never replace any fiat by people can replace their fiat with bitcoin :-)
a globabl fiat crash would only bring us probably the worst financial crisis ever

Nope, utilization of the Bitcoin software binds people to use more and more fiat currency. Otherwise, why are people evaluating the BTC value with USD?

By the way, the majority of merchants accepting BTC just want one thing: fiat currency. The end goal is not to hold BTC, except if that could bring more and more fiat currency (a.k.a. speculation).


It is not a belief, it is a fact. The majority of the population everywhere is more than happy to utilize fiat currency.


By no means the Bitcoin software helps people to overcome the suggested situations.

E.g.

If a bank account is frozen, the owner of that bank account will be unable to receive deposits or make withdraws, which in turn will disrupt his ability to... guess what... buy or sell BTC.


That is a what I call a belief and not a fact. Whatever happens, people will keep using government-issued currencies.

They are likely stable and that is why fiat currency is widely used in the the global economy.


"Something that everyone uses around the world" = fiat currency


In case you are not aware, inflation of prices in a capitalist economy are avoided due the manipulation of interest rate by the central banks. So you entire premise is based on a wrong understanding of how fiat currencies are issued and for what purpose they are issued.

USD is not the only option, we have RUR, YUAN, CHF, EUR, GBP, its much better than USD.

Does Email really need to replace Snail Mail?  :)

The only reason why USD was most dominant is because of oil market. All purchases need to pay in USD. If this goes, US is in BIG TROUBLE.

There are some nice pretty graphs on the forum showing just how small Bitcoin presently is compared to fiat. Bitcoin can still grow a ton without replacing fiat. Fiat won't go away imo.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has."

I believe BTC will eventually completely replace fiat, not before a bloody fight.

Ideas can't be un-acquired.
Once people realize they can have a scam-free currency, they won't agree to use fiat anymore.
It's only a matter of time before this idea fully spreads in the society.

Governments will eventually have to either accept BTC, and stop their manipulative fiat scams, or be thrown away for governments that embrace it.