pros and cons of bitcoin vs USD as global currency

[lordquanta]

A global currency is the great way to rule the trade world. That is why we see there are countries fighting(not literal war)  with each other for dominance over global currency status. The countries like USA or EURO or China have their currencies which have acceptance across the world. In current world trade scenario, US dollars single handedly most significant global currency. It has maintained that status since last century.
In modern world, a revolution named bitcoin happened in world of economics/ currency. Now bitcoin is already on its way to become the global currency. However it is that path is way more long that expected. Bitcoin has the required potential and the push from investors to become the global currency. Still there are certain cons which bitcoin developers need to take care.

What do you think the pros and cons of bitcoin becoming global currency compared to the USD which is already there.

[jseverson]

Pros? Off the top of my head, Bitcoin becoming the global currency would make anyone who's holding even a meager amount of coins rich. One Bitcoin could easily be worth millions of dollars with the entire global population sharing only 21 million. There's also the fact that everyone will be able to access a convenient, secure, and decentralized currency that they don't need to entrust with banks.

I honestly don't think there's a significant con, but we're obviously very far from that with a lot of roadblocks ahead. Bitcoin can't handle that many transactions, for one. Transaction fees could also be bigger than fiat exchange fees. There's also the fact that none of that even matters if we can't get adoption. But yeah, we'll see. It seems to me like we're slowly inching our way there.

[thedarksun]

Bitcoin is going to be development as far as it could to be just the best as it is nowadays, so it will win with all oponents just buy the users whose are making this coin growing so fast.

[pereira4]

The pro is obvious: We all would be rich. Anyone holding 1 BTC would have the purchasing power of a millionaire, since 21 million coins is simply too few for any other outcome, considering the insane amounts of wealth out there that would come into the blockchain.

The elite is obviously not going to let this happen, unless the elite can get on Bitcoin and continue being The Elite, not just some big stakeholder. So they will either figure out a way to get in and outstake current Bitcoin elite, or pull a war against Bitcoin.

[BrewMaster]

there are lost of pros, we all know them and some of which are mentioned here in above comments. but the biggest con that exists and will prevent any kind of adoption as a global currency instead of USD,... for the foreseeable future is the way price changes. in other words the volatility.

when normal users, with small amounts of bitcoin are not willing to spend their coins and are just holding it for the price rise or holding it to dump if they saw a tiny drop, you can not countries adopt bitcoin as their global currency.
with USD, price isn't going to change like bitcoin. 1 USD is X EUR and will remain X EUR tomorrow too. with maybe 0.1% change. with bitcoin 1 BTC is X USD today and 2X tomorrow or maybe X/2!

[darthmaul]

I don't see bitcoin becoming as the global currency, I won rather note it as "global asset" and it had taken over the gold and oil assets. That could be said in the first place as bitcoin as currency is not having any legal status. In short words bitcoin can not be used as or its not being used as currency at first glance so I'm in little conflicted stage that whether we should start comparing it against the USD currency which has current global currency status.

I mean you know bitcoin exists but how many more are there who doesn't literally know the bitcoin existence; so it would be unrealistic to have this comparison.

P.S. Bettre to keep it as the global asset and it is doing great to make the profits for big and small investors. The pros and cons is different thing really. Biggest cons is it is not being used as currency.

[namjar]

The pros are only for those who are holding bitcoins right now, but there are a lot of consecuences if bitcoin really become a global currency (obviously that i think that this is impossible)
But we all have dreams about it, and maybe we all want to see it happening.

But if bitcoin keeps having this kind of fees, like $5 or $7 for every transaction that you make, then it is obvious that it will never be a global currency.

IN which kind of situation do you have to pay $5/7$ for a single tx? Never, i have never paid that kind of fees, and this is ridiculous because you can not pay a hamburgere on mcdonalds with bitcoins.

[amih]

Pros and cons are certainly there with the existence of bitcoin at this time in overcoming economic problems although bitcoin is a form of virtual currency that has a fairly high nominal but of course there are still many people who are not interested in the existence of virtual currency bitcoin especially for people who have not know and understand about virtual currency.

[moooonu]

Pros of bitcoin is its anonymity, decentralized and its increasing value with time.
Pros of USD is its acceptance all over the world and its strong holding in market.
Cons of bitcoin is its use in illegal activities, price can fall to zero value(but that's' almost impossible).
Cons of USD is value which isn't that much increasing or decreasing for its holders to profit.

[patt0]

Well we all know some of the Pros if bitcoins ever managed to become a global currency. It would be imune to inflation, it's decentralized, it's secure, it's easy to use and it doesn't require the use of banks, giving you the complete control over your money. As for the cons, it's hard to tell, because we don't know what could go wrong. Having a fixed limit of coins and being decentralized, although it's a good thing, it could also be used to generate panic, but this are just conspiracies theories. If BTC was a global currency, and somehow the biggest holders of BTC decided to unite themselves, they could probably be able to manipulate the market if they wanted to. Also if a major flaw was ever encountered in the code, it would generate global chaos.
None of these things are likely to happen, but I guess the major con of BTC as a global currency, is that if it ever went wrong for some reason, it would end up being a catastrophe for global economy.

I guess that these things wouldn't happen with USD. Since it's manipulated by banks and governments, and exists for so long, a global catastrophe is unlikely to happen. This is probably it's biggest Pro. We kind of know what to expect from USD. As for the cons, is that dollars allow banks to have a monopoly over money, and that doesn't look good. If bitcoin ever succeeds and avoids any major problem, then it would way better than fiat.

[btc-facebook]

Bitcoin is different things just like gold , it act like asset but bitcoin has advantage like fiat.
When bitcoin being created , it's make a revolution as digital transaction like never before so people's enthusiasm on bitcoin is very high just take a look at the moment, bitcoin almost reach $ 10.000

[frowsiter]

The instability of the bitcoin price could be the limiting factor while choosing the bitcoin as global currency. People will never understand the proper use of it if the prices kept changing. Not everyone is educated enough in the field of bitcoin to know about this instability. Anyway apart from this the insufficient supply could also make bitcoin very expensive currency and it will become very difficult to manage to supply. I know the satoshi units are there anyway but they won’t help as the transaction fees could kill them. So we will need bigger pieces or payments to be sent once. So many things to apply it practically.

[vintages]

In as much that I don't really support  the idea of bitcoin been a global currency because I think it can never be for some certain reason.
Though, just like that there is advantages and disadvantages in everything so there is in bitcoin too if it becomes a gobal currency .

To make it simple, it advantage include ;
1) The bitcoin currency is not own by anyone, it is decentralized.this is it unique feature.
2) Since it is a vitrual currency, we don't need bank or rules and regulations when trying to withdraw or use it.

Having said it, its disadvantages is more numerous and deep than it advantage.
1) we may think it is decentralized but as soon as it becomes a currency watch as greedy politicians dive into it with greediness and this making it centralized.
2) there will be too much holding.
3) it will become scares which means alot of people will practically be poor for ever.
4) Most countries which are not technologically improved will be downgraded and stagnacy.

There are alot of disadvantages, unlike the USD. bitcoin is beautiful if it remains an assets as it is.

[lordquanta]

Bitcoin is different things just like gold , it act like asset but bitcoin has advantage like fiat.
When bitcoin being created , it's make a revolution as digital transaction like never before so people's enthusiasm on bitcoin is very high just take a look at the moment, bitcoin almost reach $ 10.000

This is partly correct. As bitcoin was conceived as a currency however over the period of time it became asset. And what an asset it has become! Still I think for bigger amounts and inter countries. Bitcoin is still considered as revolutionary. It is just that many people are joining bitcoin community everyday. The profit margin are favorable to the new joining people as well. Recently bitcoin jumped over the 9000 USD barrier and it is still going stronger. Currently it is 220USD short of 10000 mark.
However this volatility is what causing problem in acceptance in trade. Nobody likes a currency whose value is immensely volatile. In case of bitcoin any receiver of bitcoin is trade is the happiest person. Because whatever amount he received in trade has now doubled so far.

[fiulpro]

Well I think that bitcoin being a global currency would for sure prevent domination of a certain nation..
Also the usage requires just  little complicated factors that easy to get into..
When you come forward to convert dollars into your own local currency its for sure not that easy as compared to encashing bitcoins.
Bitcoins are way more suited for this task.. they needs less checks and are obviously more secure.
But when we talk about cons..
I don't think that bitcoins are fit to become a global currency..
Since they aren't stable thus they will require a strong amount of fixed investment in the future but I don't think that it will happen.
To be a currency you need to be stable and acceptable worldwide...where as bitcoins are banned in certain countries so how will it function with respect to them is a big question.

[Lancusters]

Bitcoin may not be the world currency. At least at the moment. Currency needs to have real capitalization. Currency in ideal conditions is equivalent to the vitality of the state economy. Bitcoin is the equivalent of currency that was earned in other States. It can't be. It will be a bubble. It seems to me that bitcoin needs to participate in the global economy and only then he can claim the title of the currency.

[Creepings]

Bitcoin is going to be development as far as it could to be just the best as it is nowadays, so it will win with all oponents just buy the users whose are making this coin growing so fast.

Bitcoin is being developed and being debated but there are still a little achievement done. With this at hand, I think bitcoin are still far away from defeating other opponents specially Fiats. Even if a lot of people buy and use this currency, with the baby steps development, bitcoin will stay this way in a very long time.

[bajigur894784]

I see many the cons, many say "bitcoin is full of risk, because there is no guarantee".
therefore, there have been various responses from countries around the world on this bitcoin. Some countries clearly prohibit its existence and its use, although to date it is still debated.
As a commodity, bitcoin has not been say as a legitimate currency just like the dollar, although there are some vendors that accept transactions using bitcoin, both domestically and abroad.
In the end, i think there is still a long lot of process to go through until bitcoin can become global currency.

[krishnapramod]

Bitcoin is already a global currency, but replacing USD as a global reserve currency is a far-fetched theory and for that to happen the extent of Bitcoin adoption should be exponential, major countries should adopt and legalize Bitcoin as currency, one of the primary currencies for trade throughout the world should be Bitcoin. If Bitcoin becomes a global reserve currency then obviously the price would  skyrocket. In terms of functions of money:

1. Medium of exchange.

Scalability, volatility, transactional cost, speed, fee matters. Assuming Bitcoin scales to accommodate large scale global transactions and there is more price stability, Bitcoin would be a reliable medium of exchange.

2. Unit of account.

To serve the function of a unit of account, Bitcoin should be able to measure the relative value of goods and services and other transactions in the economy. Divisibility and volatility matters. Since Bitcoin is divisible it enhances its unit of account function, but volatility can be a major con especially if there is short-term price fluctuations. A fluctuating global currency makes it difficult to spot the true relative prices of goods and services leading to adverse effects.

3. Store of value.

Since Bitcoin is deflationary, it is beneficial to Bitcoin holders, good store of value, but at the same time the expectation of higher future value of Bitcoins may lead to its hoarding in anticipation of higher price which in turn may reduce its use in exchanges of goods and services. Although increasing and retaining purchasing power, its use as an effective medium of exchange might be limited.

From an economical perspective, according to Blocklink analysis, the richest 30% of all Bitcoin owners own 98.3% of all Bitcoins. So the poorest 70% of Bitcoin owners own less than 1.7 % of all Bitcoin. It takes merely 0.153 Bitcoins to be placed in the top 30% richest Bitcoin owners. Assuming Bitcoin becomes a global reserve currency, the wealth distribution still somewhat remains the same as the existing system.

Bitcoin doesn't have to replace the banks or Fiat or become the global reserve currency to be disruptive. It just needs to accomodate and offer alternative solutions be it storing wealth or P2P transactions to people who don't want to use banks/Fiat.

http://www.blocklink.info/distributions.html

[newbie-hero]

Bitcoin will develop and help many people become rich, but it will not become a world currency. Its too unstable price does not allow it to be a full currency, and if it is stable, it will lead to loss of interest from investors.