In another thread I meantioned some of the advantages Bitcoin has over cash (
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1113484.0)
Truth is not many people I know personally use Bitcoin. None of my friends or direct family members do and here are some reasons why I think that is.
I have provided some workarounds to most of these "downsides". Like everything in life, Bitcoin isn't really perfect.i agree, bitcoin is not still mature enough that can be considered completely reliable.
1) While Bitcoins are not controlled by an actual Government, etc, that also means that there is no official "customer service" for Bitcoin, especially when it comes to reimbursement; If you lose your private keys you are screwed, the coins are gone and therefore your money. Doesn't matter who you buy Bitcoins from, they can't help you at that point. Some companies have made this pretty avoidable though, by just allowing a username and password to sign into your Bitcoin wallet.
this can be a good thing, because it is not controlled by any individual, group or government so you don't get screwed for example like what happened to Greeks.
and as for losing your private keys. i don't see it as a problem with bitcoin but it is the user's fault.
2) Not enough businesses directly accept Bitcoin. While some big name companies do accept them, overall they aren't accepted at most online and local businesses at this point of writing. There are a lot of ways around this though just because of what Bitcoins CAN buy, which can be used to trade for the item you desire. For example if a local or online business accepts PayPal but not Bitcoin, it's easy to convert it.
yes, this is a big problem with bitcoin. i always say this and consider it the biggest thing that is keeping bitcoin back.
for example when the places that i shop (spend money) at doesn't accept bitcoin then buying bitcoin and holding it becomes more of an investment. and this investment because of the volatile nature of bitcoin has high risks.
3) Bitcoin can be stolen through malware, social engineering, being robbed at gunpoint, etc. Malware can certainly be avoided, you can store your Bitcoins offline, encrypted, etc. on a malware free machine/device. Social engineering is unlikely, if you are familiar with Bitcoins, you are probably familiar with social engineering. Being robbed at gunpoint can hopefully be prevented by meeting in a busy coffee shop, etc.
well you answered your own concerns here, all the things that you said can be avoided and also we are facing the same problems with credit cards and fiat too.
4) Bitcoin is not "user friendly". With terms like "Blockchain", "mBTC", "Private Key", "Hashing", "QR Code", etc. I can see where a lot of not tech-savvy people would be discouraged. It's clear that Satoshi didn't design Bitcoin to be used by everyone.
to use bitcoin you don't need any technological knowledge about things like hashing, how blocks are mined, what is blockchain.
you only need to know a couple of things. how to create a safe wallet (bank) like paper wallet which has a lot of walkthroughs. and how to buy and spend it which is made easy nowadays with online wallets like Coinbase and smartohones.
5) You can't pay your Government's taxes, fees, etc. in Bitcoin (at least I know in my country you can't).
Feel free to contribute to this, I would love to hear some opinions.
government is working with fiat so i don't see them using bitcoin ever.
but they will take taxes from you if you try to trade bitcoin