This is an interesting discussion. However, realistically speaking, bitcoins seem to be more useful as a store of value rather than as a medium of exchange. Perhaps bitcoin's utility in the future will be like that of gold--good for storing value or backing other currencies, but not so good for buying things.
Good discussion, glad to see there are people who take BTC seriously and are not just a bunch of cowboys looking to get rich on an easy deal. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, however I believe the following is true:
- the more governments around the world increase the supply of FIAT currency, the more feasible alternative stores of value such as BTC become.
- just as with any currency, the stability of BTC will depend on the extent to which people have "faith" in it as a store of value.
- BTC provides an alternative and arguably safer method of storing value than depositing money in the bank. This is still an emerging trend, but now that its been done in Cyprus, it would be easy to repeat it in other small countries like Slovenia and Greece because the taboo has been broken.
If this continues to happen, people will seek out alternative stores of value (such as BTC) for all the right reasons, instead of looking at it as a quick in-out investment.
- I believe BTC is still in its infancy. 5 years is little time for a commodity, which is not that easy to understand, to stabilize.It still needs a proper infrastructure and support industries (ie- e-security companies, user- friendly interfaces for non- technical users etc) to help it maintain its stability and therefore boost its reputation as a reliable commodity.
- BTC becoming a currency in its own right is pretty unrealistic for the moment. We have a long way to go and a lot of convincing has to be done until large companies start accepting it as a means of exchange and until you can pay your utility bills in BTC.
- crashes like the one we just saw will flush out those who are not that serious about using BTC. The more people realize that the true value of BTC is the fact that its an alternative to your bank account, the more powerful it will become.
