I don't get it, now that I investigated and read much more about BitCoins and altcoins.
BitCoins are not secure, not private, not anonymous and to use them - you need extra effort.
Payments made through debit/credit cards are instant and most people keep their money in the bank (in fact, most workplaces choose to pay money only to your bank account now). That said, to use Bitcoin you'd have to buy BitCoins, which creates extra effort. Why do that? I don't get it!
Basically you have a choice: a) just pay instantly using your debit/credit card, or b) pay using BitCoins after wasting some of your time.
I always thought BitCoin was about privacy and anonymity, but clearly it isn't (just read the news...), so that argument goes straight outta window. Other than that, I see zero advantages, and considering what I just said - far as I understand it right now - BitCoin is a completely useless idea, unless we ditch it and start using one of the truly private and anonymous coins, which isn't gonna happen and is irrelevant to this discussion anyway.
So, am I missing something? Am I misunderstanding something? What's up with BitCoins when it comes to buying stuff? The more research I do about it, the less sense it makes to use it.
I'm not posting this to get on someone's nerves, I'm posting it because I want to understand. So don't get all personal and defensive and value-oriented here, I'm looking for facts. Thanks.
I'm talking only about paying using BitCoins. E.g. buying a monitor or a book or headphones using BitCoins instead of a credit/debit card. It's not about being a merchant or selling/buying illegal stuff on .onion sites, nor is it about using altcoins.
Note by which I seek to quench one potential argument: if you buy something and want to get it at some point in your life - you have to enter your name and address.
I think I may have an answer for you..... Cryptocurrency is the future. Dollars and coins are slowly going to be replaced. Its going to happen because the world's economies are basically entertwined with technology. It's the new "cool", even if it is stupid. It's just going to happen. Now, with that said, right now the technology infrastructure is just being built out. Right now, even in the Fiat "Dollar" world, you have a migration from electronic debit/credit cards to chips / sensors / biometrics / smartphone pay etc. Even if cryptocurrency were to all die tomorrow - you'd still have this migration heading towards all digital payments. But I will admit that RIGHT NOW the technology infrastructure isn't here yet. So you are partially correct that it is a bit more difficult to use bitcoin now, than simply putting it in your bank and using the debit card.
But the degree of difficulty is shrinking, and already there are some advantages to being "first in line"......
1) With Coinbase for example, I have a "Bank Account". I can hold my dollars in my account, or I can hold bitcoins. I can have dollars AND bitcoins mixed in the same account. At normal times when bitcoin is on an upwards growth trend, I keep it all in bitcoins, and my money appreciates (like a super interest bearing checking account - only a LOT better than any fiat bank pays). If I see a down spell - I instant exchange it into dollars with the click of a mouse. So my online Coinbase Account acts as 1) My checking account that has a direct linked debit card 2) My savings account that pays pretty darn good interest 3) an Investment portfolio that I can actively manage if I want.
2) Now that I can spend my bitcoins, I can feel safe enough to also directly accept bitcoin payments. As a business man, this expands my potential customer base, increases my offerings to my customers. All good things in the business world.
3) I'm ahead on the learning curve than the average Joe. When the "Switchover" comes, I will be ready to take advantage of a lot of business migrations / confusion. By capitolizing on that I will increase marketshare in my business.
4) If You Believe (and I do) that the current global fiat system is destined to crash and fail at some point int he next year or two - then you have your money in a place that will still have value, and actually may explode in value, once they start having bank holidays, and people start fleeing to safe haven currencies like gold, silver, and now bitcoin.
So for me, after a brief learning curve, that I feel I'd have to go through sooner or later anyway, I'm actually currently holding and spending bitcoins pretty much with ease. I expect as I get my system and kinks out, and as the bitcoin/cryptocurrency infrastructure system improves, int he end it will be just as easy as spending dollars ever was - maybe easier.
