Bitcoin: Not Practical As a Currency?

[CryptoBry]

I just read this somewhere from a site that is also introducing its own version of cryptocurrency and they claimed to be combining the best of both worlds...that of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Anyway, let's give them the needed good luck in the sea of cryptocurrencies we already have.

Bitcoin is a digital currency, invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, that is limited to just 21,000,000 units. As the price of bitcoin has risen, its use case has evolved from a currency into a store of value. It is no longer practical to use bitcoin to make every day purchases.

There are two points presented here. One is that Bitcoin has already evolved from being a currency into a store of value (maybe just like the physical gold) and two that Bitcoin is not anymore practical to be used for day to day purchases (maybe because it is very volatile and hence people are becoming speculators with its value).

Any comment?

[pooya87]

I just read this somewhere from a site that is also introducing its own version of cryptocurrency and they claimed to be combining the best of both worlds...that of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

random claims like this are easy to make. you write a code and say it is the best thing in the world.
what matters is how that code will perform in real life situations.

as an example you can see that ethereum was advertised as being able to handle a lot of transactions and be fast, blah blah. but when push came to shove the network failed miserably because simply it couldn't handle a small surge in number of transactions!
and the same has always been true about the rest of them. they say they solve problems but instead they introduce 100 new ones.

Any comment?

well, we still have the issues with spam attack, the recently hashrate shenanigans which delayed the blocks a lot and the miner shenanigans like what Antpool has been doing with mining empty and half empty blocks all day long.
all these lead to a bigger mempool and a higher fee, making it hard for us to use bitcoin as a currency.

[davis196]

I just read this somewhere from a site that is also introducing its own version of cryptocurrency and they claimed to be combining the best of both worlds...that of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Anyway, let's give them the needed good luck in the sea of cryptocurrencies we already have.

Bitcoin is a digital currency, invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, that is limited to just 21,000,000 units. As the price of bitcoin has risen, its use case has evolved from a currency into a store of value. It is no longer practical to use bitcoin to make every day purchases.

There are two points presented here. One is that Bitcoin has already evolved from being a currency into a store of value (maybe just like the physical gold) and two that Bitcoin is not anymore practical to be used for day to day purchases (maybe because it is very volatile and hence people are becoming speculators with its value).

Any comment?

I don`t remember the time when it was "practical" to use bitcoin "for day to day purchases".It never was.
There aren`t thousands of merchants ,who accept bitcoin  payments for regular goods and services.Right now ,we can use bitcoin for only two things-investing and gambling,and this is OK for me.
I wish good luck to those altcoin creators.Perhaps they will create the best altcoin ever.
Or maybe not....

[wantjokull]

Yes it is pretty much impossible to implement bitcoin as currency. There's problem of its practical use in terms of physical world. The bitcoin transaction works on the basis of confirmation and network viability from the miners in first place. This takes a lot of time to proceed and delays occurs on payment which is not feasible to use in the real world. It can be used more neatly as way to save our money and also to grow it.

[haroldtee]

With using bitcoin in the physical world, I for one know we ain't even there yet but that doesn't mean we can't get there. Very soon, we may go back to speedy transaction confirmations, lower fees etc which would definitely take us back to using bitcoin most especially for micro transactions.
However, this new cryptocurrency is just another wannabe! I guess claims like this are easy to make, but once they get into the system and see how it is, they will know it ain't burger eating but I am not saying he doesn't have a point though. Nevertheless, I am sure it is a way to attract investors into their coins hoping it can at least have some values for their pocket. I know lots of cryptos are bringing different innovations to the table hopefully with better tech but who really wants to gamble that and move all their bitcoins to a self proclaimed stronger cryprocurrency. I sure would not want to do that. Bitcoin will always have that no.1 advantage except if the devs don't buckle up fast anyway. I can't speak for the future.

[boost523]

Bitcoin due to its limited supply (21 million), can not be used as universal currency, but it is a cyber gold, share almost all characteristics with gold.

[Kaller]

Bitcoin is definitely practical. The thing is that the fees are so high now we will need Lightning Network before we can realistically move forward at this point.

[krishnapramod]

I just read this somewhere from a site that is also introducing its own version of cryptocurrency and they claimed to be combining the best of both worlds...that of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Anyway, let's give them the needed good luck in the sea of cryptocurrencies we already have.

Bitcoin is a digital currency, invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, that is limited to just 21,000,000 units. As the price of bitcoin has risen, its use case has evolved from a currency into a store of value. It is no longer practical to use bitcoin to make every day purchases.

There are two points presented here. One is that Bitcoin has already evolved from being a currency into a store of value (maybe just like the physical gold) and two that Bitcoin is not anymore practical to be used for day to day purchases (maybe because it is very volatile and hence people are becoming speculators with its value).

Any comment?

Bitcoin was designed to be a P2P digital currency, but since it hasn't been widely used as a currency yet, bitcoin hasn't already evolved from being a currency into a store of value, but more being a speculative asset with a good store of value, limited supply, wouldn't degrade with time and as far as there is demand it would be a good store of value.

User adoption, speculation, limited supply, all these contribute to bitcoins volatility so practically as far as there is demand, bitcoin would be volatile, maybe less volatile and more stable in future. For day-to-day purchases, Bitcoin has to evolve from being a speculative asset to a somewhat stable medium of exchange.

[Jet Cash]

Bitcoin was never really a currency, and won't become one until it becomes stable. At the moment we have the destructive blocksize increase issue, and there are a number of other major possible changes looming for the future. There is the reduction in block generation time, which will have to happen in the not too distant future if multiple confirmations are required to ensure that a transaction is on a valid blockchin. The other interesting possibility is an increase in the number of coins that are allowed to be created. Someone will try to fork for this change because it represents such a massive capital gain possibility.

[Arkann]

Indeed, one can agree with the assertion that bitcoin has already acquired status more like digital gold, as a real value, to which it is necessary to invest for storage and saving, than for use as an everyday means of payment. In this, its feature as a leader is the Crypto-currency. It just needs to be taken for granted.

[filharvey]

I just read this somewhere from a site that is also introducing its own version of cryptocurrency and they claimed to be combining the best of both worlds...that of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Anyway, let's give them the needed good luck in the sea of cryptocurrencies we already have.

Bitcoin is a digital currency, invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, that is limited to just 21,000,000 units. As the price of bitcoin has risen, its use case has evolved from a currency into a store of value. It is no longer practical to use bitcoin to make every day purchases.

There are two points presented here. One is that Bitcoin has already evolved from being a currency into a store of value (maybe just like the physical gold) and two that Bitcoin is not anymore practical to be used for day to day purchases (maybe because it is very volatile and hence people are becoming speculators with its value).

Any comment?

Bitcoin is created as a currency by satoshi.Earlier,it was used as currency by people to buy products when its price was very cheap.Then arose the high transaction fee problem,due to which most transactions got struck and now it has almost been solved by activating segwit.But now on seeing its high increasing price,most of people have decided to just save it as an investment and not to spend as a currency.More over,its supply is limited to 21 million coins only,it would not be efficient to use to as a currency in the long run.

[Shamie1002]

Well, Practicality depends on its use.  I would look at its use rather than listen or believe to things like saying bitcoin is not practical anymore which I can observed that Bitcoin is just getting started. Bitcoin is very much practical. Maybe they are just making conclusions like this because it is not yet widely accepted. As long as it is in demand, it is practical to use.

[illyiller]

There are two points presented here. One is that Bitcoin has already evolved from being a currency into a store of value (maybe just like the physical gold) and two that Bitcoin is not anymore practical to be used for day to day purchases (maybe because it is very volatile and hence people are becoming speculators with its value).

Any comment?

Bitcoin was always a store of value; it just used to have a higher level of inflation and had a small network, so it wasn't very valuable. Now its network is being adopted very quickly as people simultaneously are realizing that the supply is very limited and running out quickly. Bitcoin could function as a currency in the loose sense of the word (widely accepted money), but due to its limited supply and thus inherent volatility, it's not great as a medium of exchange. I think of it more as an entirely new type of asset: one with the fundamentals of a commodity in limited supply, but with the utility of portability and easy, irreversible payments.

[Manuj]

I have encountered such comment several times before. And I think it holds water because look at how precious Bitcoin has become. Are you going to spend BTC that easily when its value is doubling tripling in so quick a time?

[orions.belt19]

I just read this somewhere from a site that is also introducing its own version of cryptocurrency and they claimed to be combining the best of both worlds...that of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Anyway, let's give them the needed good luck in the sea of cryptocurrencies we already have.

Bitcoin is a digital currency, invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, that is limited to just 21,000,000 units. As the price of bitcoin has risen, its use case has evolved from a currency into a store of value. It is no longer practical to use bitcoin to make every day purchases.

There are two points presented here. One is that Bitcoin has already evolved from being a currency into a store of value (maybe just like the physical gold) and two that Bitcoin is not anymore practical to be used for day to day purchases (maybe because it is very volatile and hence people are becoming speculators with its value).

Any comment?

I don`t remember the time when it was "practical" to use bitcoin "for day to day purchases".It never was.
There aren`t thousands of merchants ,who accept bitcoin  payments for regular goods and services.Right now ,we can use bitcoin for only two things-investing and gambling,and this is OK for me.
I wish good luck to those altcoin creators.Perhaps they will create the best altcoin ever.
Or maybe not....

Yes, bitcoin is not practical for daily use, it never was until today. I don't think that it will be any time soon unless innovations were made, and the transaction fees are lessened. Since there are not that many options for you to spend bitcoin, it can't be used as a currency for daily use. Some people use it for daily expense by exchanging it to fiat but I don't think bitcoin can be used as a currency. Most people see bitcoin as a stored value, because most owners store it in secure wallet. Like me, most people use their BTC  for long-term investment.

[Reid]

Ain't that the truth?
We are not using it so it is correct.
We became holders and merchants disagree into making it as an option for payment.
But there will an end to all of this. Although it will take long it will come.
That is why many alts are rising because of that.
They give a better option which is usable not just a stored value.

[Niya]

There are two points presented here. One is that Bitcoin has already evolved from being a currency into a store of value (maybe just like the physical gold) and two that Bitcoin is not anymore practical to be used for day to day purchases (maybe because it is very volatile and hence people are becoming speculators with its value).

Any comment?

Well, this is basically true. High fees, slow confirmation time, high volatility make Bitcoin not practical for daily purpose. That's a fact (I'd say unfortunately that's a fact).
Also, very few merchants accept it a payment method. It's more like gold, definetely.

[alyssa85]

There are two points presented here. One is that Bitcoin has already evolved from being a currency into a store of value (maybe just like the physical gold) and two that Bitcoin is not anymore practical to be used for day to day purchases (maybe because it is very volatile and hence people are becoming speculators with its value).

Any comment?

Well, this is basically true. High fees, slow confirmation time, high volatility make Bitcoin not practical for daily purpose. That's a fact (I'd say unfortunately that's a fact).
Also, very few merchants accept it a payment method. It's more like gold, definetely.

Part of the reason merchants don't accept it (apart from the high fees) is that it is so volatile. BTC was $1000 in Jan and it's now over $4000. And in 2014, we saw it go in the opposite direction, from $1000 to $200. It makes it hard to price things in bitcoin, because you never know what you are going to receive, you have to price in dollars, and sell any coins you receive immediately, to avoid currency risk. The volatility makes it useless as a currency.

[Rinaze]

ETH is not even considered as a currency coin in my opinion. Both BTC and ETH are separate entity designed to perform different task.

Anyway, the quick answer to your question is yes, BTC is not practical as a currency at the moment because of the transaction speed and fees. Mirco payment is literally not possible. By micro payment, I consider anything less than a dollar. $20 is not micro payment but as of now, it's not possible to send $20, you probably get to receive less than half back if you want fast transaction speed. However BTC is aiming or rather striving to become a currency coin and eventually replace cash to a certain extend.

[talkbitcoin]

i say lets not jump to any conclusions this fast. bitcoin is still young and currently it is experiencing a year of crisis after crisis with the spam attacks and all the fork drama and the hashrate drama,... they seem to never end.

give it some more time, let the price become more stable, let the drama of scaling subside and then see how it does do things that a currency is supposed to do.
and by the way bitcoin has been doing fine before 2017!