Is Bitcoin actually ready to go mainstream?

[MUFC]

It needs a few more killer apps, IMO.

Such as? Bitcoin has all it needs to go 'mainstream' and continue to grow, all we need is people, industries and merchants to get on board and the rest will come naturally. Give it time and we'll get there.

[futureofbitcoin]

It needs a few more killer apps, IMO.

Such as? Bitcoin has all it needs to go 'mainstream' and continue to grow, all we need is people, industries and merchants to get on board and the rest will come naturally. Give it time and we'll get there.

That's what "not ready" means....

Where are you going to get people if 99% of the world can't *use* bitcoin currently? If I was in a small city in China or Africa, heck, even Japan/US there probably wouldn't be a single store that accepts bitcoin. Even if there was 1, people don't like being limited in choices. What if I don't like the coffee in that store?

[RodeoX]

It needs a few more killer apps, IMO.

Such as? Bitcoin has all it needs to go 'mainstream' and continue to grow, all we need is people, industries and merchants to get on board and the rest will come naturally. Give it time and we'll get there.

Maybe an insured wallet app that allows easy switching between your fiat bank account and bitcoin? It is still not easy for new users but we are getting there.

[BitUsher]

Is Bitcoin actually ready to go mainstream?

Unfortunately no.
Items needed:
Better privacy.
Reverse of centralization trend
Better security(hardware wallets)
Higher TPS(Transactions per second)

[jjacob]

It needs a few more killer apps, IMO.

Such as? Bitcoin has all it needs to go 'mainstream' and continue to grow, all we need is people, industries and merchants to get on board and the rest will come naturally. Give it time and we'll get there.

Maybe an insured wallet app that allows easy switching between your fiat bank account and bitcoin? It is still not easy for new users but we are getting there.

With this kind of volatility, people may start using it as their personal trading account. 
I guess we would need more stability before insurance companies step in. Otherwise, the premiums would be very high and could be deal breakers.

[Daniel91]

Not at this stage.
Value of BTC is very unstable so mostly people buying it as investment, with idea to sell later with profit.
There are still not to many places where we can buy some digital staff or services, ''big companies'' or payment services still don't accept bitcoin etc.
This situation can change in the future if we, bitcoin users, help with promotion and improving of BTC.
Nothing will change if we just waiting that something happen.

[Billy Hlapinnio]

Is Bitcoin actually ready to go mainstream?

Unfortunately no.
Items needed:
Better privacy.
Reverse of centralization trend
Better security(hardware wallets)
Higher TPS(Transactions per second)

Absolutely. Better security is definitely the first in line for me. Storing your cash in an unstable and unprotected currency is too risky.

[shulio]

It needs a few more killer apps, IMO.

Such as? Bitcoin has all it needs to go 'mainstream' and continue to grow, all we need is people, industries and merchants to get on board and the rest will come naturally. Give it time and we'll get there.

Yes bitcoin has everything but merchants and industries are avoiding bitcoin for now because the value of it is still not stable yet. If you were a merchant you would of course only accept fiat because it has a stable value. Thats the main thing why bitcoin could not go mainstream and it wont be in a short time because they value is still fluctuative

[lahm-44]

by this point I will like to clear that...the scam and frauds are mostly run by our own faults.we give owr money to those site just to burn owr money

[MUFC]

It needs a few more killer apps, IMO.

Such as? Bitcoin has all it needs to go 'mainstream' and continue to grow, all we need is people, industries and merchants to get on board and the rest will come naturally. Give it time and we'll get there.

Maybe an insured wallet app that allows easy switching between your fiat bank account and bitcoin? It is still not easy for new users but we are getting there.

With this kind of volatility, people may start using it as their personal trading account. 
I guess we would need more stability before insurance companies step in. Otherwise, the premiums would be very high and could be deal breakers.

Volatility is to be expected with such a new and uncertain technology. It's still essentially taking its first babysteps out in the world and is unsure on its footing but it'll steady eventually. In the mean time volatility is good for speculators and investors getting involved.

It needs a few more killer apps, IMO.

Such as? Bitcoin has all it needs to go 'mainstream' and continue to grow, all we need is people, industries and merchants to get on board and the rest will come naturally. Give it time and we'll get there.

Yes bitcoin has everything but merchants and industries are avoiding bitcoin for now because the value of it is still not stable yet. If you were a merchant you would of course only accept fiat because it has a stable value. Thats the main thing why bitcoin could not go mainstream and it wont be in a short time because they value is still fluctuative

Not true. Payment processors protect against this which the vast majority of merchants will and do use. If you buy something that costs $100 the company gets $100 in their bank account (minus the small fee the payment processor takes.

[Shindo1988]

No, Bitcoin is nowhere near being ready to go mainstream.

There are many things that need to be improved first like security and privacy,
and of course it needs to start gaining positive reputation.

Most people now think that Bitcoin is the ultimate tool for criminals.
At least that's how the media presents it.

[BTCevo]

No, Bitcoin is nowhere near being ready to go mainstream.

There are many things that need to be improved first like security and privacy,
and of course it needs to start gaining positive reputation.

Most people now think that Bitcoin is the ultimate tool for criminals.
At least that's how the media presents it.

I think bitcoin security and privacy already in number one. Its hard to be hacked since it got the google authenticator protected it and there is so many possible wallet to save your bitcoin so I think its well done. What bitcoin need for now is trust from people out there

[minerpumpkin]

No, Bitcoin is nowhere near being ready to go mainstream.

There are many things that need to be improved first like security and privacy,
and of course it needs to start gaining positive reputation.

Most people now think that Bitcoin is the ultimate tool for criminals.
At least that's how the media presents it.

I think bitcoin security and privacy already in number one. Its hard to be hacked since it got the google authenticator protected it and there is so many possible wallet to save your bitcoin so I think its well done. What bitcoin need for now is trust from people out there

Bitcoin is protected by Google authenticator? What are you talking about? Bitcoin is "merely" protected by the supposed irreversibleness of one-way mathematical functions and private/public key authentications. Google authenticator has nothing to do with this, actually.

[sankara87]

No people is too ignorant and lazy, and the bitcoin is not technically ready for billions of people.

[BTCevo]

No, Bitcoin is nowhere near being ready to go mainstream.

There are many things that need to be improved first like security and privacy,
and of course it needs to start gaining positive reputation.

Most people now think that Bitcoin is the ultimate tool for criminals.
At least that's how the media presents it.

I think bitcoin security and privacy already in number one. Its hard to be hacked since it got the google authenticator protected it and there is so many possible wallet to save your bitcoin so I think its well done. What bitcoin need for now is trust from people out there

Bitcoin is protected by Google authenticator? What are you talking about? Bitcoin is "merely" protected by the supposed irreversibleness of one-way mathematical functions and private/public key authentications. Google authenticator has nothing to do with this, actually.

That is not what I meant. Every exchanger site there will have google authenticator to proof that this bitcoin is will be protected from people if they want to hack some of exchanger site. Of course bitcoin is protected by key, code or whatever it is to block every hacker

[jjacob]

There's too much talk about bitcoin going mainstream, clearly that's not happening in near future. The next area where bitcoin could gain ground right now is in the informal economy. I'm not talking about drugs and other illegal stuff so much as stuff like craigslist, used vehicle sales between individuals, all kinds of stuff like that. Bitcoin is ready for mass adoption in that field and if lots of people were to start using it for that type of trade the ecosystem would grow big-time. At that point, maybe THEN it would be ready for more mainstream commerce. I'm planning on starting a thread on this topic.

For vehicle sales between individuals, people might still prefer cash, unless one of the individuals is actually looking at buying bitcoins as well. I think when people are separated by large distances and are looking to trade over the internet, bitcoin will have a natural fit. Online marketplaces - that's my bet.

[futureofbitcoin]

There's too much talk about bitcoin going mainstream, clearly that's not happening in near future. The next area where bitcoin could gain ground right now is in the informal economy. I'm not talking about drugs and other illegal stuff so much as stuff like craigslist, used vehicle sales between individuals, all kinds of stuff like that. Bitcoin is ready for mass adoption in that field and if lots of people were to start using it for that type of trade the ecosystem would grow big-time. At that point, maybe THEN it would be ready for more mainstream commerce. I'm planning on starting a thread on this topic.

The problem is, people won't do that with bitcoin until bitcoin is already mainstream. They want to know the money they're getting is "real money".

[Amph]

No people is too ignorant and lazy, and the bitcoin is not technically ready for billions of people.

is not something that bitcoin or we, can decide, mainstream is a thing that will come naturally, there isn't an enttity that drives it

also we should define meanstram, because for someone is just a price increase for other is when bitcoin will be used alone for purchasing stuff, not dumped for fiat everytime

[Snail2]

Unfortunately no.
Items needed:
Better privacy.
Reverse of centralization trend
Better security(hardware wallets)
Higher TPS(Transactions per second)

Pretty good summary. I'd add blockchain pruning to the list. Downloading the blockchain takes ages, and the workarounds are insecure (web wallets) or promoting a sort of centralization (lite clients).

[MUFC]

No people is too ignorant and lazy, and the bitcoin is not technically ready for billions of people.

The general public might be ignorant and lazy on a whole, but if they can work banklng aps and paypal then they can use bitcoin. Wallets are only going to get easier and safer to use over time too.

There's too much talk about bitcoin going mainstream, clearly that's not happening in near future. The next area where bitcoin could gain ground right now is in the informal economy. I'm not talking about drugs and other illegal stuff so much as stuff like craigslist, used vehicle sales between individuals, all kinds of stuff like that. Bitcoin is ready for mass adoption in that field and if lots of people were to start using it for that type of trade the ecosystem would grow big-time. At that point, maybe THEN it would be ready for more mainstream commerce. I'm planning on starting a thread on this topic.

Why not? I disagree entirely. I think bitcoin will achieve some mainstream success eventually, but may take a couple of years. Once certain industries realize the potential to save millions they'll likely get on board.

No people is too ignorant and lazy, and the bitcoin is not technically ready for billions of people.

is not something that bitcoin or we, can decide, mainstream is a thing that will come naturally, there isn't an enttity that drives it

also we should define meanstram, because for someone is just a price increase for other is when bitcoin will be used alone for purchasing stuff, not dumped for fiat everytime

Bitcoin going mainstream has nothing to do with the price, it has to do with being able to actually spend and use it in the 'mainstream', though of course we would expect with that level of adoption that the value of bitcoin will have risen to meet the demand.