What's stopping people from using bitcoin?

[QuestionAuthority]

I had a close look at bitcoin the last two weeks. The technology is interesting, but for the normal user:

1) There is no need. Cash, credit card, bank transfer and perhaps even Paypal works fine. I know only one guy who is only using bitcoin because his contractor is only accepting bitcoin. I really don't know why this contractor doesn't accept bank transfer as it would be cheaper.

2) The value of the bitcoin is not directly connected to the local money. This makes handling the bitcoin risky.

3) It is much more complicated than the methods under item 1.
 a) To pay with bitcoin means doing two payments. One from item 1 to buy bitcoins plus the bitcoin payment itself. For buying bitcoins I have to look for a dealing website, then I have to register there, probably with ID verification, mobile phone verification, transaction limits and perhaps even shity things like SOFORTbanking which is a violation of the no.1 online-banking law (do not tell anbody your PIN).
 b) To pay with bitcoins means perhaps installing some software and learning how to use it.
 c) For paying it would be good to understand the software so that no money is irrecoverably lost. That is why there are so many websites advicing how to handle bitcoins so that they are not lost.
 d) For paying it is necessary to understand bitcoin at some level so when you e.g. enter the miner's fee you know what its effect is. "Fee? No, I don't want to pay a fee!" and then he is wondering why it takes so long.

4) It is less secure because money can be lost due to errors and there is no risk management. E.g. a bitcoin key can't be blocked like a credit card in case of theft.

5) Transaction processing is at the moment very slow.

6) It is more expensive than some current payment methods. If I make a SEPA bank transfer inside the EU there is actually no fee at all.

So until now I bought a bitcoin, I moved it around in my accounts, I made my own paper wallet design modification. But I really had no chance to buy something with it. I have located a fast food restaurant in about 30-45 minutes driving distance which accepts. I plan to go there the next weeks and try to pay there with bitcoins even so the hidden transaction fee will be nearly as much as the cost of the food.

You're right of course. This is a very rational post for a newbie.

Bitcoin was supposed to be this great salvation from requiring a trusted third party (bank) to make transactions. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to remove trusted third parties from the equation. In order to do it product would need to be sold directly to consumers using Bitcoin, the manufacturer would need to be capable of buying his supplies with Bitcoin, and you would need to get paid for your labor directly in Bitcoin. Those things are simply not possible yet and most likely will not be possible on a large scale for at least 20-40 years.

[Anddos]

I think the biggest problem is that people do not understand bitcoin yet.

[JAyThaRevo]

so many reason, for example: they got bored , they think they dont need bitcoin anymore, they think that bitcoin dont have bright future (i believe bitcoin have bright future)

Yeah the future of bitcoin is bright for sure, the only reason people are not using bitcoin is that it is not that popular at a moment and they are getting carried away by the negative news related to bitcoins.

[gentlemand]

The average joe won't make any effort to browse through all these social media platforms to know more about Bitcoin. The media has done everything to put Bitcoin in a bad daylight. It will be very difficult to make them think different and give Bitcoin a fair chance.

We're still a long way away from most Average Joes. The people arriving now are likely to be very interweb savvy and they'll be hungry for information. If said information outlets appear to be a storm of screaming, bitching and factions then they'll think 'fuck this' and click off. Average Joe is supposed to arrive after these folks but he won't if the earlier waves are massively turned off.

[Thepuj]

I think the biggest problem is that people do not understand bitcoin yet.

Most will probably never be able to understand bitcoin. Most do also not understand how USD or Euro is created. But the user interface of cash is simple. There is not much more needed than the ability to count. I think with the correct interface design even people who do not understand bitcoin would be able to use it. The HD wallet with the set of random words for backup is a good way into that direction. But there is then still the problem to tell them why they should use it.

[Yakamoto]

I think the biggest problem is that people do not understand bitcoin yet.

Most will probably never be able to understand bitcoin. Most do also not understand how USD or Euro is created. But the user interface of cash is simple. There is not much more needed than the ability to count. I think with the correct interface design even people who do not understand bitcoin would be able to use it. The HD wallet with the set of random words for backup is a good way into that direction. But there is then still the problem to tell them why they should use it.

This is the age old problem with spreading Bitcoin to more people, is how to convince them to use the slightly more confusing and inefficient system, with its benefits, over a more simple yet more detrimental system.

It all comes down to marketing, and the pros and the cons.

[owm123]

This week, confirmation times.

[stacksofcoin]

Continual negative mainstream media from outlets owned by large financial institutions and companies with a vested interest in keeping things the way they are.

[DeDordtenaar]

Right now I think the answer would consist of - five minutes of perusing r/bitcoin, r/btc and a selection of medium articles. That would be enough to send most people screaming.

yeah writing about other people who look smart. and they predict bitcoin will not live long.
probably many people will stop

[btc-facebook]

I'm using bitcoin because easy to use and can be use for purchasing any goods around the world.
But as we can see that every goverment having different policy for protecting civilian right as the fact said that some country block bitcoin for some reason.

[goinmerry]

The knowledge that is needed to understand things about bitcoin and a lot more. People are getting lazy to read and learn more. They just want to apply on what they are good at and never try to be flexible

[BakaJepoyYan]

Maybe because of it's unstable exchange rate 

[john2231]

As my observation why people stop using bitcoin because they're thinking bitcoin is scam. Honestly i experienced to scammed in any investment site and cloudmining site all my money stuck in investment and never withdrawn it.. So that i am planning to stop collecting bitcoin. And i search many times how can i recover my bitcoin but the answer is there's no way to recover all my bitcoins in investment site.. so i stop using bitcoin in few weeks but i thinking may there's another way to earn bitcoin so i found this signature campaign is better in faucet.. so now i am still using bitcoin right now and i learn a lots of things about coin here in our forum..

[SuperCoinGuy]

Some people are just skeptical about Bitcoin and they think of it as magical Internet money and hesitate to try it out. Bitcoin is still not mainstream to warrant a more widespread adoption.

[Hashminers]

Right now I think the answer would consist of - five minutes of perusing r/bitcoin, r/btc and a selection of medium articles. That would be enough to send most people screaming.

The average joe won't make any effort to browse through all these social media platforms to know more about Bitcoin. The media has done everything to put Bitcoin in a bad daylight. It will be very difficult to make them think different and give Bitcoin a fair chance.

Yeah most people here were in a way already interested in bitcoin or new innovative things.
Fact is that while there is not enough marketing. The media are also playing a big bad role. Indulging everything bitcoin related as negative.

Yeah, the role of media was crucial as they never supported bitcoins, and kept on spreading negative news related to it, and that made people think twice before investing into bitcoins.

I think they will stop if they realize that they lose a lot of money with Bitcoin. They stop if they lose more money than they invest in it.
But you must be smart in Bitcoin. And the most important is to have also have patience. 

[danherbias07]

Some people are just skeptical about Bitcoin and they think of it as magical Internet money and hesitate to try it out. Bitcoin is still not mainstream to warrant a more widespread adoption.

Yeah I ask some of my friends and that is what they define Bitcoin. An online money and that's it. They dont know that you can earn some and make it a fiat again. They think you will buy it through fiat and that's it you cant get it back.

[ekoice]

Maybe because of it's unstable exchange rate 

What's stopping the people, for me I think is awareness about bit coins which is making some people think negative to buy or invest in bitcoins since they don't know about digital currency and they are not sure that this currency is valid and stable like other paper currencies as well.

[bitlancr]

Some people are just skeptical about Bitcoin and they think of it as magical Internet money and hesitate to try it out. Bitcoin is still not mainstream to warrant a more widespread adoption.

Yeah I ask some of my friends and that is what they define Bitcoin. An online money and that's it. They dont know that you can earn some and make it a fiat again. They think you will buy it through fiat and that's it you cant get it back.

Its just better to make Bitcoin more used, that would be perfect. The world is becoming more digital and that is very good.
But you never know indeed for what can happen later in the future. But lets hope for the best thing.

[ShrykeZ]

Knowledge and the lack of motivation to try something new, it's what stops a lot of people with new technology.

[Anddos]

If you think about it is weird. Money that isn't exactly money. They don't exist physically. You cannot hold them. There are no banks for it and they aren't created/printed by the government.