After reading crypto blogs, books, user experiences, and this forum over the last few months, I've come to the conclusion that Bitcoin will not become the universally accepted global currency.

It doesn't have many applications apart from storing value and it's not user-friendly.

It's not all BTC's fault. The current economic model doesn't support its widespread use because we're still dependent on centralized institutions for infrastructure.

Kind of a chicken or the egg? type question. What comes first? Decentralization or one universal cryptocurrency?

With seemingly unlimited ICO releases, (https://ethereumworldnews.com/ico-volume-double-2018/) which qualities will the be-all and end-all coin have? And which economic circumstances will facilitate its success?

Never would've thought of it this way. What about digital land?

https://decentraland.org/

Decentralized virtual worlds could be one option to support growing populations..

Money definitely matters, it's like blood in a way.

However, and I'm not sure whether or not this will happen within our lifetimes, but I think in a post-scarcity economy, money will hold less value once we won't need it to achieve our wildest dreams in a resource-less virtual simulation made possible by AI, brain-scanning, and more bandwidth.

Any idea of safety is an illusion. It's best to be prepared for the worst by not placing all your eggs in one basket and diversifying your assets. This is the one viable investment strategy and it always has been. Anything else is basically gambling. To feel you can be dependent on any one thing or person is foolish.

The only person you can blame for being affected by an "economic crash" is yourself. Study trends, follow the markets, read everything and connect the dots! If you're helping to make the good life more accessible in any step of the supply chain, (by using the latest technology and the internet now) you'll never have to worry about finances. Freedom is digitized.

1.7 billion people worldwide do not have access to a bank account.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/06/08/1-7-billion-adults-worldwide-do-not-have-access-to-a-bank-account-infographic/#75d0ff814b01

With internet accessibility growing, billions of people could potentially become paying customers. People who effectively use cryptocurrencies and blockchain now will receive a big fucking piece of the world's pie.

I get the impression that every influential entity has plans of creating its own currency. There's even speculation of Facebook creating its own ICO.

Do you think that fractionalized ownership will be applied to everything? Are all assets going to be tradable?

All publicity is good publicity.

The hearts of people are easily won by way of personalities in the limelight. Even if it was a joke, this man knows where the world is heading because he's helping to create its future, which is more digitized futuristic than anyone could've ever expected.

Human minds merged with AI with neuralinks, global broadband internet thanks to his internet satellites, hyperloops, self-driving cars, mars..

Governments only approve of things that can make them money. First marijuana is demonized as the devil's lettuce, now it's becoming a beneficial wonder-cure.

The same thing is going to happen to cryptocurrency, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. The transparency works both ways and blockchain will cull government corruption.

As of now, banks offer better security because they guarantee your funds, whereas if money is lost or stolen in crypto, no one is backing it so it's gone for good.

Also the need for exchanges makes using crypto risky. Once distributed exchange networks and other security measures are put in place you won't be able to depend on crypto for security.

I don't think it has deviated from its original purpose, even if people seem to only recognize its potential for profit.
I believe bitcoin and other methods of decentralization  are meant to give people more freedom, and financial freedom also fits the bill.

Associating something with extraordinary profit a great strategy to get people attracted to something and grow its use.
The next step is to use the same technology that made bitcoin possible, blockchain, to redesign society to allow for freedom in all its forms, not just financial.

Yes, but this is gradually changing, with the latest ICO's implementing better security measures, escrow systems, etc. The ideal should be to provide the freedom of the wild-west without the imminent risk of death (in crypto's case, getting scammed).

If blockchain tech and AI is implemented properly, we'll have a good balance of transparency and security.

Love westerns though.

"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig."

-The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

We should all strive to be those with the loaded guns, but sometimes, we have to dig first.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45889707

Ms Wambugu started trading in Bitcoin two years ago and and within a year she made enough money to buy the two-storey Nyeri hotel, which she converted to Betty's Place, her bbq restaurant. She also teaches customers how to trade and use Bitcoin.

Africa will represent blockchain's ability to democratize opportunity even for the geographically challenged. Once smartphone use and internet access expands, 350 million Africans are going to be able to do the same thing.

Definition of a farm: a plot of land devoted to the raising of animals and especially domestic livestock.

Countries are the plots of land, and humans are the domesticated livestock.

Instead of being fed fodder to keep us alive and render us profitable, we are fed information (mostly lies) in educational institutions and kept docile by means of cheap entertainment, comfortable paychecks and pleasure-food.

We don't need much to be happy-Be able to spend time with a few close friends, family, freedom to create without constraint, health, and self-sufficiency.

How did you escape from the farm, if you have? I've noticed a lot of people are using this forum to create better lives for themselves, prioritizing personal freedom and making themselves human again.

Scarcity raises value. People are more likely to go apeshit over things that they're not supposed to have access to, which is why legalization is and free access is always the way to go.

BUT, drugs are not the problem, people are. The modern educational system does not prepare people for a happy, healthy life. It barely, if at all, touches on how to cultivate psychological, physical and spiritual health, money-management habits, how to take intelligent risks or think for one's self..

We need a restructuring of society to provide for health in all its forms. We need to start creating a society based on human needs rather than treating people like livestock. I have hope in the future thanks to things like bitcoin, AI, decentralization and other means of democratizing the world and allowing for better human health on all levels. Focus should always be placed on treating the root cause of the symptoms. Drug use is an epidemic that is created, and can be cured by people.

Plenty of places overreact to citizens' actions, but it's more of a strategy to set an example so that the rest of the population doesn't follow heed. It's seen as a small inconvenience for the health of the greater good. Also, considering eastern cultures/religions prioritize individual human life much less than the west, this Chinese situation isn't surprising.

I believe that decentralization, AI, virtual and blockchain tech are going to protect and benefit general populations more than ever. They're going to take away the initial motivation to commit crimes in the first place and governments' power to act on tyrannical ideologies.

The difference between a trader and a gambler is experience, but to be either, you need a lack of fear, which either comes from stupidity or a deep understanding of what it even means to lose money.

An experienced trader will know that losing money is not a big deal in this world. It can be won back just as easily by using the same principle that makes a successful trader-intelligently exchanging value. There is an endless amount of paying customers hooked on consumerism, problems, to be solved, and fortunes to be made.

Businesses aren't going to tokenize their products unless they have better incentives. There needs to be more services aimed at guiding businesses into the crypto realm, making it more easily digestible for them to understand how they could earn more money by implementing crypto payment options.

There already are quite a few businesses that already accept crypto, which is a good sign. (Expedia and Microsoft are probably the most well-known on the list.)

https://www.lifewire.com/big-sites-that-accept-bitcoin-payments-3485965

Shorter-term, VR is going to take over entertainment (art museums, movies, see opera or broadway shows from anywhere, virtual sex).

Long-term, and I am not exaggerating, life itself. You'll be able to work and live in VR. The tech has quite a ways to go though. Haptic suits, treadmills, better headsets and other means of access are being developed. The potential for a digitized society is huge and it seems like that's where we're headed.

One global digital currency would be ideal. It would reduce the individual leverage of nations, which is one contributing factor to both trade wars and actual wars, creating one world economy. There are a lot of benefits to this:

-You could make decent money in previously third-world countries (India, Ukraine, etc.)

-It would level the global economic arena. China could no longer use currency exchange as a means to make their goods cheaper on the global market.

A newbie can popularize bitcoin by talking with people who know nothing about it and filling them in on the benefits of using it, such as nonexistent bank charges and other taxes that can be avoided. One of the barriers to popularity is the complex terminology which causes most people to zone out.

Mission on the forum: To learn from people who know more than I. Firsthand accounts of anything are valuable and hard to come by.