So Whats the Difference when you use BTC?

[MF Doom]

One big thing I can think of is that every time you use a credit/debit card, a transaction fee goes to a big bank/payment processor.  With btc, it goes to a miner.

Other than that, how does it benefit you to use btc?  I mean you need fiat to get btc, and then usually need to take fiat out.  So where is the net benefit besides the fees being lost by the big banks/payment companies?

[OmegaStarScream]

One big thing I can think of is that every time you use a credit/debit card, a transaction fee goes to a big bank/payment processor.  With btc, it goes to a miner.

Other than that, how does it benefit you to use btc?  I mean you need fiat to get btc, and then usually need to take fiat out.  So where is the net benefit besides the fees being lost by the big banks/payment companies?

I guess being annonymus is just another thing aswell , some people don't want to reveal their real informations and they have the right for that and there is low fees & fast transactions , other people simply see it as investement for long term and don't really care about the features as long as they make money from it .

[pedrog]

It depends where you live and what you want to do with the money.

Generally it can be used as an investment, bitcoin value tends to increase, but you may also use it to circumvent restrictions on the usual monetary system.

[maokoto]

One difference is the easiness of international transfers. I can pay someone in Russia or China without much problem. Such a bank transfer would be more complicated and have expensive fees.

Futhermore, you can do microtransfers of cents or fractions of a cent. Again, if I want to send a small 2 cents to someone in China by way of a bank, the fee would be much higher than the amount sent. With bitcoin it is possible to send it without a high fee, and will arrive at destination faster.

[RustyNomad]

Speed and cost.

I posted this earlier in another thread but will repeat it here.

When making withdrawals from my trading account the funds were sent by wire transfer [swift] which would take anything from 4 to 7 days to reach my bank account and it would cost me anything from $25 to $50 depending on amounts etc...

My broker has however started accepting bitcoin for both deposits and withdrawals. I now do all my withdrawals in bitcoin. If I do a withdrawal before around 3 in the afternoon I can receive and convert it and have it deposited to my local bank account in under 24 hours for a cost which is nothing compared to what I paid before.

So I'm now able to cut almost 6 days off this whole process just by making use of Bitcoin, that is almost a whole week less.

I usually make one withdrawal a week and my savings through using bitcoin is on average $26 per withdrawal so using bitcoin also saves me roughly $1,300 per year just in fees.

There are other areas where bitcoin has also saved me some money and time but the above it the most important one for me or at least the one that had the biggest impact on my daily life.

[Gervais]

Other than that, how does it benefit you to use btc?  I mean you need fiat to get btc, and then usually need to take fiat out.  So where is the net benefit besides the fees being lost by the big banks/payment companies?

Not always. You can earn bitcoins in various ways or sell/trade something for them. I think using bitcoin is just a great way to buck the current system and use something that s truly decentralized. "Be the change you wish to see in the world". Hopefully one day we'll be able to spend bitcoins around the world just like we would use cash.

[Amph]

you don't need fiat to have btc, i never bought any of my btc, all earned through good old mining day and signature, even today you can earn a good amount via signature campaign

so there is a big gain in privacy/anonimity, fee and time, no one will know how many coins you're holding, and aside form this i find more confortable to use bitcoin than putting sensitive info like cvv in a suspicious site

[DarkHyudrA]

To me BTC is nice to buy anything that isn't in my local currency.
The local government has a lot of laws and taxes for buying something with your CC to buy, let's say, in USD.
So, I avoid paying the annually fee from having a international CC and avoid the ridicously fees that my non-sense government set.

[pedrog]

you don't need fiat to have btc, i never bought any of my btc, all earned through good old mining day and signature, even today you can earn a good amount via signature campaign

so there is a big gain in privacy/anonimity, fee and time, no one will know how many coins you're holding, and aside form this i find more confortable to use bitcoin than putting sensitive info like cvv in a suspicious site

Well, the vast majority of people has to buy bitcoin if they want bitcoin...

[MF Doom]

you don't need fiat to have btc, i never bought any of my btc, all earned through good old mining day and signature, even today you can earn a good amount via signature campaign

so there is a big gain in privacy/anonimity, fee and time, no one will know how many coins you're holding, and aside form this i find more confortable to use bitcoin than putting sensitive info like cvv in a suspicious site

Well, the vast majority of people has to buy bitcoin if they want bitcoin...

thats kind of what I'm getting at...where is the net benefit if you NEED fiat to aquire btc, and eventually will just be exiting with fiat, whether it's because you were just speculating in the first place or just need fiat for something else.

If it all just goes back to fiat, then were is the benefit?  I know some have said billions could be saved in opayment processing fees, but currently that numbers got  to be WAY less than that, and the electricity consumed by miners is, at the end of the day, paid for in fiat, which goes to large billion dollar electricity companies (mostly).

[Amph]

you don't need fiat to have btc, i never bought any of my btc, all earned through good old mining day and signature, even today you can earn a good amount via signature campaign

so there is a big gain in privacy/anonimity, fee and time, no one will know how many coins you're holding, and aside form this i find more confortable to use bitcoin than putting sensitive info like cvv in a suspicious site

Well, the vast majority of people has to buy bitcoin if they want bitcoin...

yeah i know, for those people there isn't much to do besides waiting for when the wage will be payed directly with bitcoin, for now they can see more, bitcoin, as a speculation and less as a currency

[btc-facebook]

When I start using bitcoin instead fiat, I feel more untraceable and more efficient.
Also bitcoin's fee is cheaper because I'm often to send payment to Bangkok for my brother that college there.

[S4VV4S]

Personally, I use it because I am in control of my finances.
You have no idea in how many ways a bank can rip you off just by doing a transaction using a VISA.

Example: Your currency is Euro, you want to buy something in GBP.
You will pay the transactions fees, plus whatever it is the rate your bank sells GBP for.
And believe me it's quite a bit of money just from that transaction.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that they will make that EURO/GBP exchange a few days later when the GBP is higher,
regardless of the fact that you (think you) paid for it a week ago when GBP was .80 EUR and they charged you .90 EUR.

Apart from that, the same rule applies as it does with Bitcoin.
If you are not the holder of your private keys you are not the owner.
Let's not forget the "haircuts" and whatever they can do and get away with it.

[dollarneed]

to me the difference when i use bitcoin is,iam not afraid anymore for transaction on internet because before i using bitcoin i was used paypal and i was very scared if someday my paypal get limited
and then i start using bitcoin,i can transaction safely and no worry about my money get limited by the company,thank you mr satoshi

[ashour]

One big thing I can think of is that every time you use a credit/debit card, a transaction fee goes to a big bank/payment processor.  With btc, it goes to a miner.

Other than that, how does it benefit you to use btc?  I mean you need fiat to get btc, and then usually need to take fiat out.  So where is the net benefit besides the fees being lost by the big banks/payment companies?

Well there are some factors that make a difference. For example bitcoin does't need any ID verification in order to create a wallet, try to open a bank account or a visa credit without giving private information. With bitcoin you just load your wallet with coins and pay.

[Mickeyb]

One big thing I can think of is that every time you use a credit/debit card, a transaction fee goes to a big bank/payment processor.  With btc, it goes to a miner.

Other than that, how does it benefit you to use btc?  I mean you need fiat to get btc, and then usually need to take fiat out.  So where is the net benefit besides the fees being lost by the big banks/payment companies?

You are being short-sighted here, it's not all about the payments as a currency for buying stuff. It's also about financial freedom, it's about having your money when you want it and spending it where you want it and not about capital controls that have hit Greece for example. And also it's about not having to answer to the questions, why are you withdrawing your money from your bank account!  

It's also about financial transparency and not about printing dollars when you feel like it. It's about time, try sending a wire transfer form France to US for example. It's about cost, how much will bank charge you for that bank transfer.

It's about many things!

[TheButterZone]

I mean you need fiat to get btc, and then usually need to take fiat out.

Nope.

[RGBKey]

It's anonymous, for the most part. It's quick and easy. I feel much more fully in control of my money.

[turvarya]

It's just a slow process.
Companies are starting to keep Bitcoin, paying wages in Bitcoin paying suppliers with Bitcoin. There will be more companies doing that eventually.

What we have now, is not the optimum, but such a process takes time.

One current personal benefit for me: A discount on Amazon purchases via purse.

[damiano]

One big thing I can think of is that every time you use a credit/debit card, a transaction fee goes to a big bank/payment processor.  With btc, it goes to a miner.

Other than that, how does it benefit you to use btc?  I mean you need fiat to get btc, and then usually need to take fiat out.  So where is the net benefit besides the fees being lost by the big banks/payment companies?

The benefit I have while I hold and use bitcoin is to not be controlled by the banks. You don't need fiat for bitcoin if you have a service/business that pays you bitcoin, also why cash in bitcoin for worthless paper?

We should have all only invested what we could afford so there really should be no need to be withdrawing to fiat. Especially at this low ass price. I will stay being in control of my own savings and not some thieving manager at the bank, "and its gone"