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[thenameisjay]

How much closer is Bitcoin to being mainstream, and how do you gauge that?  I noticed more ATMs in recent years, but other that haven't seen too many other signs.

I think a good indication that bitcoin is mainstream is that most stores accept bitcoins as a means of payment on all things including physical and digital products. You gauge it by how much people have their hands on bitcoins.

[tylerderden]

Not close enough. And I don't think that it would be ever close enough to become mainstream. Bitcoin is too volatile for that. Such an unstable currency can never be accepted as mainstream. If this happens then it wouldn't have a good effect on our economy.
Also it is decentralised and although that gives bitcoin power but it also prevents it from going mainstream. Do you think the government will ever allow a currency to go mainstream over which it has no control? I don't think so.

[jseverson]

Not close enough. And I don't think that it would be ever close enough to become mainstream. Bitcoin is too volatile for that. Such an unstable currency can never be accepted as mainstream. If this happens then it wouldn't have a good effect on our economy.
Also it is decentralised and although that gives bitcoin power but it also prevents it from going mainstream. Do you think the government will ever allow a currency to go mainstream over which it has no control? I don't think so.

It's possible in my opinion. Certain governments have already accepted the rise of Bitcoin. They don't really need to control it, they just need to gain revenue from it. For as long as they monitor the exchanges closely, there should be few problems. That being said, I don't think Bitcoin going mainstream means governments will have to abandon their own currency. State issued fiat still have far too many advantages over Bitcoin, including much better stability. I'm sure people would much rather prefer having the liberty to choose between the few.

As for the volatility, I believe it has to do with the fact that Bitcoin is still too concentrated as far as distribution goes. The smaller the user base, the more unstable the demand is. More users should stabilize its value some.

[777Bitcoin]

How much closer is Bitcoin to being mainstream, and how do you gauge that?  I noticed more ATMs in recent years, but other that haven't seen too many other signs.

I will put it bitcoin place in mainstream is on the door step already. In due time as more people will be hooked in bitcoin phenomena the mainstream will don’t have a choice but to support it all the way. When? If I’m right a 10000$ per bitcoin price is enough to convince them that enough of pretending that cryptocurrency doesn’t exist because if we don’t support it, bitcoin will eat them all.

[DewiKirana]

Bitcoin will become mainstream among the public if their country legalizes, contains transaction-related regulations using bitcoin, supports bitcoin in building bitcoin redeployment facilities in public areas.

[hous26]

We're getting there.  I've noticed more and more storefronts are starting to display the "Bitcoin Accepted Here" sign around town.  Just today I was visiting my family and we talked about Bitcoin.  My mom asked what its purpose was if noone uses it.  I did a google search and found a gas station up the road and a couple local restaurants accepted in.  She was surprised since its not a large city.

[michkima]

We're getting there.  I've noticed more and more storefronts are starting to display the "Bitcoin Accepted Here" sign around town.  Just today I was visiting my family and we talked about Bitcoin.  My mom asked what its purpose was if noone uses it.  I did a google search and found a gas station up the road and a couple local restaurants accepted in.  She was surprised since its not a large city.

Hmm, care to share which country you are in and what city it is? I haven't seen any of it here in mine, though I would say that my country won't be the first ones to adopt bitcoin. But so far, I haven't seen many post about people sharing about stores already placing signs that they accept bitcoins.

Though, I heard a lot of good things about the lightning network, it could possibly speed up the implementation of bitcoin payment systems once it gets released.

[Dudeperfect]

There are some cities in which there is a growing number of merchants accepting Bitcoin as a payment in most of the countries but if we are talking about global scale, the current situation is not even near to the scenario where we can call Bitcoin a mainstream thing.

However, I am impressed with the growing number of merchants and ATMs supporting Bitcoin because down the road, it will spread in the rest areas in most of the countries. Even though we don't have a Bitcoin-friendly market environment as of now, I am sure we will have a good picture in next 5 to 10 years.

[sofi@]

I believe some countries now are preparing in having bitcoin as their official currency and as the value of bitcoin now hits more than $6000 it is consider to be mainstream we are just waiting fo the declaration of most countries that bitcoin will be legally adopted. But now I can that the success of bitcoin will continue for a long period and its future has a very bright picture to take.

[DoublerHunter]

There are some cities in which there is a growing number of merchants accepting Bitcoin as a payment in most of the countries but if we are talking about global scale, the current situation is not even near to the scenario where we can call Bitcoin a mainstream thing.

However, I am impressed with the growing number of merchants and ATMs supporting Bitcoin because down the road, it will spread in the rest areas in most of the countries. Even though we don't have a Bitcoin-friendly market environment as of now, I am sure we will have a good picture in next 5 to 10 years.

5 to 10 years is a good range of time for bitcoin to have a good environment and friendly government because as you can see that the bitcoin is not acceptable until now but if the bitcoin will have good records and progress in the next 5 to 10 years then i think that it will be enough for the government to become positive about bitcoin and fully accept it.

[NavI_027]

Bitcoin is a liitle bit near to be accepted by everyone but still way too far to being mainstream. Being in the mainstream is very hard to attain because it means an overall change in the system of our currency; there are so much things that bitcoins must accomplish first. Bitcoins are hindered to become legal and adopt our current systems that we have at the present because of its loop holes and disadvantages. As long as opposers of btc see something wrong in using it then they will try and try to pull it down.

So I think bitcoin must prove something more in order to convince all for its implementation. Let's just wait for the mean time and trust in its potentials.

[ipanks]

i think we are still far for bitcoin to being mainstream because many people in out there still don't know bitcoin and i think we will need more years to make bitcoin known by globally. but there is possible that in next year, many people will attract to bitcoin and they will figure out what is bitcoin and why bitcoin is being famous among the other. i think right now, people have many question why the price now is too expensive especially for people from the government and they will curious, why this is happen with bitcoin because bitcoin itself is still in young age.

[Magic Sarap]

How much closer is Bitcoin to being mainstream, and how do you gauge that?  I noticed more ATMs in recent years, but other that haven't seen too many other signs.

Actually, it is obvious that Bitcoin is already on mainstream. The demand is continuously rising making its market valur more expensive. To think that it already have a value of 6000$ it is consider to be on mainstream since it is now widely known especially to the investors  Also, its narket value is way larger compared to other coins. So yes, it is already on mainstream.

[danggoron]

Bitcoin is already mainstream. Big media platforms are writing articles about it. Also when you look the unconfirmed transactions, the amount increases every second. It passed PayPal's marketcap a couple of weeks ago. PayPal is quite mainstream, even my mother knows it.

correct. not only from articles, even on youtube already have ads. Bitcoin is one of the most popular virtual currencies. Since its emergence in 2009, although in the beginning there may still be some people who are skeptical about this asset, in fact now Bitcoin is growing in number of users around the world.

Oscar Darmawan, CEO of Bitcoin Indonesia, in 2016 ago, targeted Bitcoin Indonesia users two years to reach 500 thousand.
that is, the more bitcoin years the public recognizes.

[rytyr]

Also have full responsibility for their money isn't for everyone.

THIS is to true! It's one of the main reasons China banned so many crypto related projects, Chinese people simply went crazy for coins and projects they don't understand (or care to understand). The government literally acted like a parent banning TV time because they weren't doing their homework.

[Mpamaegbu]

How much closer is Bitcoin to being mainstream, and how do you gauge that?  I noticed more ATMs in recent years, but other that haven't seen too many other signs.

Even the use of ATM will further distant Bitcoin from the anonymous status of its holders it seeks to protect. This is even a cog in the wheel of its progress for me. Besides that, I really think Bitcoin is still far removed from being mainstream. The 21million total supply (which is really infinitesimal compared to global population) and the erratic nature in price are two major issues for the Bitcoin to contend with.

[orions.belt19]

We're getting there.  I've noticed more and more storefronts are starting to display the "Bitcoin Accepted Here" sign around town.  Just today I was visiting my family and we talked about Bitcoin.  My mom asked what its purpose was if noone uses it.  I did a google search and found a gas station up the road and a couple local restaurants accepted in.  She was surprised since its not a large city.

Hmm, care to share which country you are in and what city it is? I haven't seen any of it here in mine, though I would say that my country won't be the first ones to adopt bitcoin. But so far, I haven't seen many post about people sharing about stores already placing signs that they accept bitcoins.

Though, I heard a lot of good things about the lightning network, it could possibly speed up the implementation of bitcoin payment systems once it gets released.

Same here. It would be convenient if bitcoin as a payment were to be available in my country.

In light with this, I am happy to say that the popularity for bitcoin has been increasing here in my country. It's still not mainstream, yet it's no longer just an unfamiliar term for most. It's been gaining some attention by the business and financial sector, and I've been seeing it all over social media. Just recently, I saw a news article from our local news website.

Bitcoin still has a long way to go before it becomes mainstream - it'll even experience some road bumps along the way but it is definitely on the road towards becoming mainstream.

[adadaorlina]

When  bitcoin was first introduced it was on the exciting things it started to gain momentum very quickly and before you knew it, it was in the mainstream at this point it is on everyone's mind to earn.

[worldofcoins]

We are getting there but not as much as we want too.  News like overstock.com has made profit on shares a few days ago was pretty much good news to help move  companies into adopting it, the problem is getting the general public to adopt it,  still many people know what bitcoin is.  IF each of us can talk about it daily and condition it into peoples minds, then maybe we can bring it through the mainstream faster than what it is now.

[PalindromemordnilaP]

It's already a mainstream since ICOs are growing more these days raising for bitcoin and other alternate cryptocurrencies to support their project. It's market value being dominant (even if it has not reached its peak yet) against all alt coins is enough to prove that it's already the mainstream of cryptocurrency world.