What's stopping people from using bitcoin?

[JeanMcCoy]

Bitcoin are not tied to any country so there's no reason they would stop using bitcoin if they already know about usefulness of bitcoin.

You are right but I also think they are scared to invest in the bitcoin because it also had a pretty good name due to this people do not want to take the risks.

Well investing I guess is always something for those people who have open up their minds. Because even in the real life. Investing is always a risk.
And many people tend to think out of it.

Spending will be not the best thing that you can do and that is because the value of Bitcoin is rising slowly so that is perfect for people who are holding their Bitcoin.
Because they have maybe the opportunity to sell it and that should be perfect for them if that would be possible for them.

[jayce]

Its a big deal for my family, when I was talking about bitcoin, they replied that it is bad because some news said that. You know, every bad news always success to get interest of many people

If that's the case, you are the only one who can solve that as you know what bitcoin brings up to the people. Since it's your family who do they believe, to you that engage in bitcoin everyday or in those media that don't even have a bitcoin wallet?

Surely they believe in media lol. They assuming that every news the media said is fact, because they think media is trustworthy company that won't tell wrong news. Yeah just let it be, maybe they haven't been ready for such kind of technology.

[ConnAlt]

Most of people do not use bitcoin because they dont have bitcoin.Regular traditional job still do not pay in bitcoin,earning bitcoin in part time is not possible for everyone because of limited availability of such jobs for all type of skills.
Faucet can never give you any considerable amount of bitcoin, who wouldn't use if he has something valuable in possession? So how are they suppose to use something which they dont have?

[BeGoods]

What is stopping people from using it is that the bitcoin is unpredictable, not stable and has a bad name because of the media that is talking bad about it these days.

instabilities become the most important point. Bitcoin is designed this way. Bitcoin digital currency is difficult to predict . Only those who dare to take a decision that will be used Bitcoin .

yeah bitcoin difficult to predict because it has a volatile nature but if you can be patient in the face of  prices movement ebb quickly. the fluctuations that can be overcome easily. but the problem came to himself people will usually panic and do not be patient when the price in the following circumstances

[tapunan]

From a newbie who got introduced to bitcoin because I wanted to buy 'something' that only accepts bitcoin .. I didn't like the experience at all and I'm a computer programmer by profession so I'm comfortable with technology.

Here's my initial experience - I went about buying bitcoin, researched about wallets then read about warnings people gave - I don't know whether they are common threats / outdated info :
- Use paper or cold storage or else my bitcoins might get stolen - use a LiveCD, offline transaction signing, another PC/Laptop that has never been connected to the Internet
- when you send to someone, better create a new wallet 'offline' wallet since the keys have now been used (I believe Hot Key is the term)
- Oh have a 'Change Address' or else your bitcoins might get lost
- Never store your bitcoins with Exchanges in case they steal it or worst close up like Mt Gox

In the end, what I did was buy the exact bitcoins I needed, send to my phone wallet then paid. Oh and by the way, here in Australia, in order to buy bitcoins I needed to verify my identity to an exchange - as in send driver's license info, a utility address, passport etc (not sure if this is the case with other countries).

Anyway, I saw bitcoin as a good investment so bought some when they were 700 Australian dollars - here are the steps I did based on the recommendations I've read :
- download Tails and create Live USB
- download offline bitaddress from github
- disconnected my printer from Wifi, looked for my USB printer connector to print the paper wallets
- did all transfers from the bitcoin exchange to my paper wallet via Tails Live USB in case my windows PC has some sort of bitcoin stealing malware
- store my paper wallet never to be used until the day I decide to cash out
- all this on top of having to join an exchange in the first place

You can say that there's a similar 'bottleneck' with banks - that they also verify your details - but for banks, most working people already have them set uo to get their salary.
OR I can ignore and just use wallets as normal, but just read the internet and all those warnings are always there.

I also invest in stocks/funds using an online broker, using my home/work PC and my phone. I never had to worry about all these "offline transactions/offline storage/needing LiveUSB" with PayPal or CC.
If I ever have my CC get stolen and used illegally I can revert them with my bank.
My PayPal that I used for eBay buyers that sent me wrong / broken products I've gotten my money back.
My money is safely stored with my bank - yeah there's a small possibility banks can close but some of my money is insured.

So for the near future, I will keep using PayPal / CC and just use bitcoin as an investment (again in a paper wallet generated via Tails LiveUSB while offline - printed with an offline printer and stored several copies around like the days before the Internet was invented).

[Dakron]

It all depends on how you use Bitcoin.
If you just buy and hold your coins for a certain period of time, then nothing happens if the value drops a bit. Just make sure you don't sell. As long as you don't sell, you won't lose anything.

[hermanhs09]

I guess it's the irreversibility that is stopping people from using bitcoin, however, it is the thing that attracts people to bitcoin as well. The problem with newbies is that they are easily scammed.

It's not a good feeling to get scammed, so they stop using BTC.

[JessicaSe]

I guess it's the irreversibility that is stopping people from using bitcoin, however, it is the thing that attracts people to bitcoin as well. The problem with newbies is that they are easily scammed.

It's not a good feeling to get scammed, so they stop using BTC.

If the newbies are getting scammed then its their issue that they invested in ponzi schemes and for that you cannot blame bitcoin, you need to do great level of research before investing.

[BitAficionado]

From a newbie who got introduced to bitcoin because I wanted to buy 'something' that only accepts bitcoin .. I didn't like the experience at all and I'm a computer programmer by profession so I'm comfortable with technology.

Here's my initial experience - I went about buying bitcoin, researched about wallets then read about warnings people gave - I don't know whether they are common threats / outdated info :
- Use paper or cold storage or else my bitcoins might get stolen - use a LiveCD, offline transaction signing, another PC/Laptop that has never been connected to the Internet
- when you send to someone, better create a new wallet 'offline' wallet since the keys have now been used (I believe Hot Key is the term)
- Oh have a 'Change Address' or else your bitcoins might get lost
- Never store your bitcoins with Exchanges in case they steal it or worst close up like Mt Gox

In the end, what I did was buy the exact bitcoins I needed, send to my phone wallet then paid. Oh and by the way, here in Australia, in order to buy bitcoins I needed to verify my identity to an exchange - as in send driver's license info, a utility address, passport etc (not sure if this is the case with other countries).

Anyway, I saw bitcoin as a good investment so bought some when they were 700 Australian dollars - here are the steps I did based on the recommendations I've read :
- download Tails and create Live USB
- download offline bitaddress from github
- disconnected my printer from Wifi, looked for my USB printer connector to print the paper wallets
- did all transfers from the bitcoin exchange to my paper wallet via Tails Live USB in case my windows PC has some sort of bitcoin stealing malware
- store my paper wallet never to be used until the day I decide to cash out
- all this on top of having to join an exchange in the first place

You can say that there's a similar 'bottleneck' with banks - that they also verify your details - but for banks, most working people already have them set uo to get their salary.
OR I can ignore and just use wallets as normal, but just read the internet and all those warnings are always there.

I also invest in stocks/funds using an online broker, using my home/work PC and my phone. I never had to worry about all these "offline transactions/offline storage/needing LiveUSB" with PayPal or CC.
If I ever have my CC get stolen and used illegally I can revert them with my bank.
My PayPal that I used for eBay buyers that sent me wrong / broken products I've gotten my money back.
My money is safely stored with my bank - yeah there's a small possibility banks can close but some of my money is insured.

So for the near future, I will keep using PayPal / CC and just use bitcoin as an investment (again in a paper wallet generated via Tails LiveUSB while offline - printed with an offline printer and stored several copies around like the days before the Internet was invented).

The way you use bitcoins totally depends on you, you said you're a programmer and totally comfortable with technology and then you said you found this Live cd, Cold storage & Printing Wallet stuffs awful! I mean why on this earth you'll find them boring if you really like technology?

There's a project called bitsquare which is a P2P based decentralized exchanging platform, you could've used that. Even you can contribute to make it better as you've said you're a devop and comfortable with technology. That way you can make sure you will not loose your bitcoins on any centralized exchange.

To start trading with forex/stocks you need to go through tedious ways, you know what I mean those verification stuffs and bla bla. But to start trading on bitcoin you don't need any of that, even you won't need a broker.

Almost in every country if you'll buy bitcoins with CC/Paypal then you need to verify your identity this is to prevent fraud such as charge back or usage of stolen CC. But you can use Localbitcoins to buy bitcoins with cash without the need of identity verification.

I'm sure you've not heard about multisig escrow, otherwise you wouldn't have mentioned of money back policy with the ebay and paypal.

Your bitcoins are even secure with hard wallet such as PI wallet or if you really are a tech savvy then you can build your own secure environment to store your coins securely.

The great thing about bitcoin is it's decentralized but your fiat isn't. Bitcoin is growing just let it grow....

[Sled]

I guess it's the irreversibility that is stopping people from using bitcoin, however, it is the thing that attracts people to bitcoin as well. The problem with newbies is that they are easily scammed.

It's not a good feeling to get scammed, so they stop using BTC.

If the newbies are getting scammed then its their issue that they invested in ponzi schemes and for that you cannot blame bitcoin, you need to do great level of research before investing.

I think it's good for newbies to get scammed at their starting stage from this bitcoin world because it makes them a better person on choosing big decision for their path. I also get scammed when i was a newbie and i can say that it helps me in making decision for investing my bitcoin .

[prtty2gal2]

For most people bitcoin seems to be dangerous. It's online money and people don't fully understand or trust online.
Think about the hacks/ criminals that happen. Most people are just scared.

Exactly the reason, most of the people are worried that they dont know how bitcoins work and how they regulate. Hence most people are worried and try not to use bitcoins and those who took time to understand how it works are enjoying now.

[X-ray]

For most people bitcoin seems to be dangerous. It's online money and people don't fully understand or trust online.
Think about the hacks/ criminals that happen. Most people are just scared.

Exactly the reason, most of the people are worried that they dont know how bitcoins work and how they regulate. Hence most people are worried and try not to use bitcoins and those who took time to understand how it works are enjoying now.

It's why we need to teach them about bitcoin and giving some knowledge and information about bitcoin. and bitcoin regulate is important can make everyone is interesting to join or try bitcoin.

[gerXhonza]

For most people bitcoin seems to be dangerous. It's online money and people don't fully understand or trust online.
Think about the hacks/ criminals that happen. Most people are just scared.

Exactly the reason, most of the people are worried that they dont know how bitcoins work and how they regulate. Hence most people are worried and try not to use bitcoins and those who took time to understand how it works are enjoying now.

It's why we need to teach them about bitcoin and giving some knowledge and information about bitcoin. and bitcoin regulate is important can make everyone is interesting to join or try bitcoin.

We try to teach people around us about bitcoin but the fact is majority of them are not interested in it as they feel they will loose their money in long run.

[Cyaren]

I think that the dark web association with bitcoin is why some people are reluctant to use bitcoin as a payment method. They think that it is illegal to use bitcoin while it is really not.

Some countries also ban bitcoin usage, which could be another reason.

[peta4e]

I think that the dark web association with bitcoin is why some people are reluctant to use bitcoin as a payment method. They think that it is illegal to use bitcoin while it is really not.

Some countries also ban bitcoin usage, which could be another reason.

The main reason is people gets carried away with the news that they hear about the bitcoin, and I think they should start researching on their own and that will show them the clear picture of bitcoin.

[Azarl]

Maybe it's because people are afraid to change. And conversion is still a bit hard if you don't know how to do it properly.

[Nowl1935]

So after reading this article and especially the ending:

One thing is for certain: having made Bitcoin less of a security worry, transparency will now be key in attracting users to new models, placing control of funds and fees in an upfront way in their own hands.

I'm wondering what's stopping people from using bitcoin?

And now I'm talking about people who already aware of bitcoin and how it works but still not using it.

The price is now pretty much stable for more then a year, security issues are out of the question - so why we can't see in 2015 more companies switching to it, especially considering the unstable condition of moden economy?

For me, that question is hard to answer, I mean, it is impossible for "pro people in bitcoin industry" to stop earning. I mean, there is always a way to earn btc.

[buyinbtc]

So after reading this article and especially the ending:

One thing is for certain: having made Bitcoin less of a security worry, transparency will now be key in attracting users to new models, placing control of funds and fees in an upfront way in their own hands.

I'm wondering what's stopping people from using bitcoin?

And now I'm talking about people who already aware of bitcoin and how it works but still not using it.

The price is now pretty much stable for more then a year, security issues are out of the question - so why we can't see in 2015 more companies switching to it, especially considering the unstable condition of moden economy?

I think that main thing that stops prople from using bitcoins is because bitcoin is still new so they don't k ow much about it

And also it might be that people  don't buy and use bitcoins because their price is large and they think that they need to buy whole bitcoin

[boyptc]

So after reading this article and especially the ending:

One thing is for certain: having made Bitcoin less of a security worry, transparency will now be key in attracting users to new models, placing control of funds and fees in an upfront way in their own hands.

I'm wondering what's stopping people from using bitcoin?

And now I'm talking about people who already aware of bitcoin and how it works but still not using it.

The price is now pretty much stable for more then a year, security issues are out of the question - so why we can't see in 2015 more companies switching to it, especially considering the unstable condition of moden economy?

I think that main thing that stops prople from using bitcoins is because bitcoin is still new so they don't k ow much about it

And also it might be that people  don't buy and use bitcoins because their price is large and they think that they need to buy whole bitcoin

Lack of knowledge about bitcoin is really the main reason why people stops from using it. Because it is really hard to use something if you really don't know how to use it. And I know that soon they will going to realize it as when it is going to announce in the media.

[blackmachinegun]

Maybe it's because people are afraid to change. And conversion is still a bit hard if you don't know how to do it properly.

yeah maybe people are more comfortable using fiat and then they were reluctant to join in bitcoin. there may be the reason. but it seems like only a few people. because bitcoin is not too well known. so the reason is still very rare