A buyer gets his sallary in dollars/euros/whatever. Then he converts it to bitcoins. Then he buys something in bitcoins. Then the seller cashes out the bitcoins into dollars/whatever again.

This is a complete dollar -> bitcoin -> dollar cycle.

If this was the main use of bitcoins (for the time being, it isn't), speculation would be somewhat limited. It would also expand the number of people using bitcoins. Let's face it, bitcoin is just another currency in the world, a very small one so the main use, apart from speculation, will be something like the cycle I described.

I thinkwe should all create local groups and meet together to support our cause... by convincing local shops to accept bitcoins (and teaching them how to use them) and buying things on those local shops. Meetings would be in bars and restaurants that would accept bitcoins. We should all buy everyday things with bitcoins. If we are willing to buy, sellers will automatically follow.

I say we should start convincing sellers by trying to buy somewhat expensive things with bitcoins. For example if you want to buy a guitar, buy it with bitcoins.

Perhaps speculation will be a predominant factor in the bitcoin economy, but bitcoins won't become a real currency unless people use them to buy stuff. I say we go local.

[Instantly]

Hi,

I'm an engineer, also somewhat involved in politics and therefore money comes to the question. I have some bitcoins but I won't waste much time in developing anything for bitcoin because I just don't have time for this shit. But, if I were one of you who actually care about bitcoin, I would do the following if you really want bitcoin to take off:

I would create a secured and fast bitcoin bank.

This is the idea: The bank must have all kind of security measures so that its money doesn't get stolen and the bank complies with the law. The bank holds your bitcoins, and the bank guarantees that all transfers that you want to do will take place.

For example, lets say that you want to pay 10btc to your local shop. You use your bitcoin bank credit card to allow the payment. Instantly, the transaction "10btc from this btc account to this other account with this id" gets published in the public board of the bitcoin bank. As the owner of the shop trusts the bank, he won't need to make you wait 10-30mins because the bank guarantees that the transfer will take place.

Also, you need to be able to do instant transfers between banks. Therefore you need to define some kind of process or protocol by which new banks will get to trust each other so that transfers between them can be done instantly.

In other words, what you need is BITCOIN LIQUIDITY. Then, and only then bitcoins can be useful to the layman. And for that you actually need to be able to TRUSTS some BANKS, with a serious plan for security, banks that follow the law and people who are willing to pay for that TRUST. Of course this bank will need some kind of software to interface all this (and/or some kind of credit card). And of course I would like this type of bank NOT to be a fractional reserve bank.

Once you have bitcoin liquidity, bitcoin-usd liquidity is not much of a problem because bitcoins will be actually useful for the lay man.

As I don't have TIME on my side I would be willing to put some MONEY where my mouth is. Not much, but some (perhaps $1000). And others may also like the idea.

Also, you need to understand that this bitcoin liquidity is the means to be able to make CASH out of bitcoins, meaning some kind of money that can be instantly transferred from person to person. You really nee that if you want bitcoins to succeed.

Bitcoin's price goes up and down at a rate too fast for business to take place. How can we change that? Maybe using more the short option? Perhaps it won't be so easy to move the market when we move 40M$ a day?

Perhaps it's silly, as I'm new to bitcoin and to currency trading so i'm sorry if this sounds stupid: Perhaps when night arrives people just leave their ask orders in mtgox and go to bed/whatever, and as there's more people bitcoin hungry they buy at those prices. Ask orders are mostly not updated because they are mostly sleeping so buyers just keep rising the price.

Then you wake up and bitcoin has moved from $14.2 to $17.4.

[So, Why should an illegal business man choose Bitcoin?]

Hi, i'm new to Bitcoin, and I think it's a great idea (greater even for early adopters). I've been reading and reading, and the thing is that if someone links (one of) your account(s) to you, they get all your trading history. That's bad for you if what you're doing is illegal (like selling drugs). Yes, there are some ways to make your money more anonymous, but they normally are too much of a hassle.

So, Why should an illegal business man choose Bitcoin?

It's not that i were planning to do anything illegal, it's more like... well... we all know that a big part of all the existing money comes from illegal activities (like drugs and weapons). How could we go mainstream without cashing all that money into the bitcoins economy!?