Reality check: we're out of compelling arguments to attract new buyers atm

[EuroTrash]

Extrapolation from my own stupid chart says $280 is the bottom, in a couple of depressing months from now. This might change, of course.

No, I am not selling any coins. I understand that in order for bitcoins to get legitimacy, they need to be spendable. People need to start thinking of prices in coins not fiat. And I'd love to put some of mine to work e.g. spend some on paying bills and buying groceries. But none of those options are available to me.

Xapo cards are unreliable and hard to obtain atm. Xapo said they will send them out with USD, EUR or GBP denomination but so far they only send them out with denomination in USD. So even if I used one of these to pay for groceries, I'd have to pay currency conversion fees from my currency to USD. Compare to my supermarket (not me) paying the debit card purchase fees to the debit card processor.

With bitcoin I can order takeaway food, which is unhealthy and more expensive than me cooking at home, especially considering I am a good cook   Also takeaway.com does not have as much of a choice of places as a bigger competitor here - which does not take bitcoins.

I can order gadgets from abroad on Overstock/TigerDirect - but I get ripped off on shipping expenses and customs. Besides, I buy lots of non-food stuff in my favourite Chinese marketplaces that don't take bitcoins because stuff is way cheaper over there. Simply put: no one beats AliExpress, once you know exactly what to search for and once you can tell most scams from the good stuff.

Maybe I can buy flights and hotel accommodation with Cheapair/Expedia (I say maybe for the latter because I do not know whether they take bitcoins from EU customers) - but then again I can as well do the same with Skyscanner/Trivago and a credit card and I generally find better deals.

I can go to the only bar in town that takes bitcoin - but in fairness the process is more cumbersome than just using cash, because there is a currency conversion involved. It would be different if the beers were just priced in bits - but I understand they can't do that. Also it is a good bar but not my absolute favourite place anyway.

So the coins stay in the wallets, waiting for better times to be spent.

[spiderbrain]

Yeah, you might be right. I could see it as depressing, or just a good opportunity to buy some coins back? I suppose I'll get a job again...

[azguard]

So the coins stay in the wallets, waiting for better times to be spent.

This is well said.
Hope that this better times will come any time soon. but dont think that it will benefit us all so much.
Perhaps in year time period.

[oda.krell]

You're right of course, ET. There wasn't ever really a compelling reason for most of the "early adopters" (which includes everyone on board now, even those that bought in at a higher price) to spend big with BTC. Some spending to encourage merchant adoption - check. Other than that, the usage cases in favor of Bitcoin still are outlined clearly, but they're not fully realized yet (lack of ease of use, security, and inefficiencies at the fiat/crypto interface), or they're not picked up yet in those cases where it would be a major case (restrictions of capital flow).

For now, I'm happy that it is already useful for a number of cases: sending fast, secure payments to other private end-users. Making non-recurring payments without providing much personal detail. Making payments that cannot be blocked (e.g. donations to WL).

The rest is speculation, and it's absolutely okay like that. We're collectively betting on, or against, a future where the above paragraph isn't true anymore. For the past 6 months or so, we've been in a correction on the previously established "consensus". Still, trading at a $5.5B market cap isn't too shabby as a collective expression of the belief that Bitcoin will be a major force in the future.

[Ibian]

Cyprus. There are plenty of reasons, most people just don't know about them or why they matter. All the more panic when they suddenly find out about them the hard way. I can wait.

[fonzie]

SILKROAD. SILKROAD. SILKROAD.

LOADS OF FUN and great new experineces for at least 3-4 years. Until 2018 the price will probably have found a bottom and you can buy back your speculative (BTC) stash in the meanwhile cheaper while you´re having fun.

[inca]

I am sure the same arguments have been trotted out in previous cycles.

It all sounds reasonable but the fundamental properties and original concept of bitcoin attracted all of us -  just as it will attract the next cohort of users.


Patience!

[Torque]

Store of value.  It works, but only after the next ATH.

Anyone who bought this year would laugh at that notion.  But then those that bought in before previous ATH's are laughing as well that their btc is still worth more than when they purchased it.

BTC is a fantastic store of value only for those with a lot of patience.  A LOT.