I read the article too. I *think* that since there would be 2 networks (since chances are not everyone will switch once it is out) and you would have bitcoins on both networks.

Your family keeps bouncing checks off each other? Well there's your problem right there!

Seriously tho, you do understand why checks exist, correct? It's so that old people, who get scared by anything more high-tech than a pen, can still buy things. Without needing a computer, smartphone, or internet connection.
Next you'll start bitching that wheelchairs and mobility scooters are slow

So when you hit up your Granny for £40 because you gambled away your rent on bitcoins, remember: If not for paper checks, you would have got nothing at all. Which would have been better both for you & Granny -- she's just enabling you, should let you hit rock-bottom.

No. I said banking transactions are almost instantaneous. In some cases, like with your 20th-century anachronism, the paper check, banks *choose* not to credit your account for security reasons. My bank, for instance, clears the business checks I deposit instantly (not really sure tho, haven't been living hand-to-mouth lately, perhaps because have been out of BTC for >2 years. Feelsgoodman.gif).

ORLY? I tried to cash out some BTC from Cryptsy. Guess how long that's taking?

Ever wonder why children on My Little Pony forums manage to form coherent sentences, and even spell and punctuate those correctly? And why here, on bitcointalk, that sort of thing hardly ever happens?

Yeah, me neither.

Reduce transaction costs? I bought some food today and paid with a $20 bill.

What was my transaction cost? How long did it take the transaction to confirm? How many parties were involved in confirming the transaction? Did I need to be connected to the Internet to do it?

Checks can clear absolutely instantly at banks. There is no need for blocks to be solved, confirmations from third parties or anything else. The reason they take some time to clear is not because of some wizard level problem. It is because a check is a piece of paper someone wrote some amount on.

The check writer may not have the money or the check may be forged, that's why it takes a while to clear. Why do people use checks? Because they are really easy to use, if you have a guy working on your plumbing, you can write him a check when he is done. The plumber doesn't need any kind of computer to accept the check and can just put it in his pocket. No merchant processors, no need to connect to the Internet, no bitcoin addresses, no confirmations.

With a U.S. bank, you have a whole host of options when you want to pay someone:

- paper check
- paper cashiers check from the bank account (funds are guaranteed)
- electronic transfer (including via email address or mobile phone number)
- recurring automatic electronic transfers
- wire transfer
- debit card (most have the money in the account, receiver needs merchant account)
- credit card (borrowed money, receiver needs merchant account)

Those are the most common. Banks have zero use for crypto currency, things work great as it is.

Banking transactions take roughly (ping time) + (time to update a database) = less than a second. When I buy shit with a CC, it takes me anywhere from 3 to 20 seconds before I leave the checkout.
Bitcoin?

The cost of a fiat transaction is a few pennies.
Bitcoin? Currently $373 * 25BTC / 2.7tps * (600sec per block) = ~$5.75 + tx fee, per fucking transaction. You don't pay it because it's currently subsidized by Bitcoin base money inflation, i.e. printing 25 bitcoins out of thin air every 10 minutes.
So now you know.

This is nothing new I would say.
Have the banks ever been good to us? Not in my country!
In my opinion it is time to kick some bankster's butt!

Why would a bank want a distributed ledger system when they can just have their own ledger?

With their own ledger system they can:

- make changes immediately
- rollback any fraud
- not have to deal with others when upgrading or running the system

There is zero reason for any banking system to have a distributed ledger. The fully electronic cash and computerized banking system in the U.S. works fine as it is.

All my recurring bills are paid automatically and electronically and 99% are paid without any additional fees. The only one I have a fee for is my pool guy who doesn't have a computer so my bank mails him a physical check once a month at the additional service cost of $1.

All my daily purchases are done via credit card. I get (about 3%) cash back on my purchases and the merchant pays the fees. My balance is paid in full each month, with no fee, from my checking account.