Mass Adoption of BTC

[CurbsideProphet]

Bitcoin will remain a store of wealth for people and speculators for the foreseeable future. I think it might be used for microtransactions down the track.

Yeah I think microtransactions is a good way to get the masses on board.  This is a social network world now, I think people would be willing to tip bloggers or people they follow on a regular basis.  How do you tip someone a quarter on the internet?  Incredibly difficult and a niche Bitcoin can fulfill.

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[theonewhowaskazu]

BTC transactions carry a huge tx fee for microtransactions. Centralized systems like LibertyReserve or in the BTC world Inputs.IO work much better for that type of thing.

[Hfleer]

I voted investing and preserving wealth since it's already started IMO.  I think money transfers is a really good use also, with super low fees afforded by BTC.

[BitChick]

What will be the first "mass adopted" use of BTC?

Tips on Reddit? 

[msc]

Bitcoin will remain a store of wealth for people and speculators for the foreseeable future.

Yes, I would like to see Bitcoin compete with gold as a store of value.  I still like physical gold, but I like BTC as a non-physical alternative.

[theonewhowaskazu]

Regarding the comparison between Gold and BTC, there is clearly the place for two reserve currencies, for hundreds of years people used Silver AND Gold, so there is no reason why we can't see Gold AND BTC. I highly doubt we'll go back to a silver standard again, considering where we've gone, I think that its time for Bitcoin to take Silver's place as the deflationary commodity with slightly less intrinsic value than gold, but more practical applications in commerce.

Gold is gold is gold. I don't think its going anywhere. Through human history, however, the secondary metal has changed, and also has most commonly been used as a more practical version of gold when transferring assets. Just look at American history. The original paper Dollar was backed by silver, but people were intended to use that Dollar to pay taxes & pay for normal expenditures. For super-large expenditures and savings, gold was used.

[Erdogan]

I think it is time to connect btc with the mobile money systems m-pesa and zaad. That is, it is time to create exchanges where you can buy and sell bitcoins with mobile money.

[Zangelbert Bingledack]

I'm glad investment value is far in the lead on this poll. At least I know this forum mostly gets it, unlike many on reddit.

A few odds and ends from comments above:

• "Fees too expensive for microtransactions" - fees are wildly overinflated now because there's no easy price discovery mechanism (and because they're still so low that few people care; some people are just statically extrapolating into the future, isolating one variable and assuming nothing else will change when that variable changes (there needs to be a name for this error)). Once clients incorporate a fee bidding mechanism, fees will fall to their free market level. Since frictionless free markets ruthlessly drive profits toward zero, fees should end up very slightly higher than the actual cost to a miner of processing the particular transaction.
• "We already have gold for a store of value" - gold is not instantly, invisibly, deniably, unconfiscate-ably transferable across borders or stored. The physicality of gold has a few advantages as well, but absolutely Bitcoin offers extremely unique and useful functions that gold can never have. Functions that the wealthy and oppressed will be particularly interested in. Bitcoin is a total game-changer in the multi-trillion-dollar offshore account industry.
• "People buying just because the price is rising is bad" - to a degree, but 1) those people have to familiarize themslves with Bitcoin in order to buy and to know when to make trades, which helps adoption (at least until Second Market introduces liquidity in the BIT by March 2014, though that's only for wealthy investors), and 2) there's a giant difference between price-chasing speculation and long-term Bitcoin-believer buy-in based on the correct ascertainment of Bitcoin's future transactional use value.

The latter is very healthy because such people are strong hands who drive the price up and only sell when necessary and usually only into massive parabolic rallies, helping to blunt them, meanwhile raising market cap (and therefore stability) and overall Bitcoin user base and familiarity, which loops back into increased transactional use. Also, as seen in March/April, the newly wealthy often prefer - for both convenience and tax reasons - to spend bitcoins instead of selling them, making price rise periods the best for merchants, even if they instantly convert to fiat.

Here's a MUST READ post that does a better job of explaining why store-of-value is the main utility of Bitcoin, and how that works to boost transactional value, etc. Some very subtle points are made that I couldn't find the right wording for here.

[Noruka]

governments will find a way to get their tax hands on it eventually. The only avenue they have is legislation because they cant attack the network and stop it.
The real question is how many people would actually no trade BTC even if the government said "you can't buy or sell BTC in this country"
most people currently in BTC would just load up a VPN and keep on trucking like normal. Many use BTC for that exact reason.

[histman]

governments will find a way to get their tax hands on it eventually. The only avenue they have is legislation because they cant attack the network and stop it.
The real question is how many people would actually no trade BTC even if the government said "you can't buy or sell BTC in this country"
most people currently in BTC would just load up a VPN and keep on trucking like normal. Many use BTC for that exact reason.

I think a number of states will definitely go after BTC through legislation, and it is likely the more volatile states. The Robert Mugabe's of the World definitely don't want their citizens to have other options.  Developed nations will likely look more toward regulation.  Hasn't Thailand already declared it illegal? 

[Mike Christ]

Hasn't Thailand already declared it illegal? 

No; a bank of Thailand said it wasn't explicitly legal, but the Thai government AFAIK hasn't spoken against it.

[rpietila]

The United States in its current form is a menace to the civilized world, causing even my company to write such clause as:

Customer may not be a national of or resident in the United States, Canada or Japan,
nor may his bank account be located in the aforementioned countries,
nor may the SIS Information System be accessed in such countries.

No materials, securities, redemption codes, certificates or anything issued by the Merchant
may be taken to, used or stored, in the aforementioned countries and [by] their residents.

Pretty fucked up, if an Estonian company needs to employ such precautions. Shame on you!

[hamiltino]

A store of wealth for the coming years, but still used for blackmarket transactions.

However eventually mass adoption will occur and an increase in micro-transactions. Though i don't know the block chain can handle so many transactions at one time. We shall see.

[LiteCoinGuy]

Remember the dot com bubble? People bought internet stocks, not because the companies did anything, but because they thought that the prices would keep going up. Remember the housing bubble? Same story ...

If mass adoption of Bitcoin is primarily for investment, the results will be terrible. Don't be stupid. This is what causes bubbles. If everyone buys bitcoins only because they think the price will go up, then we will see yet another bubble. We've already seen two bitcoin bubbles, and the only thing that kept Bitcoin alive in the aftermath is its utility and its potential utility.

In order for Bitcoin to have a sustainable value, it has to have utility. Bitcoin is a payment system with its own currency. Never lose sight of that or you will lose everything.

until today, bitcoin gets stronger and stronger with each bubble. tough bastard

[mearylll]

A store of wealth for the coming years, but still used for blackmarket transactions.

However eventually mass adoption will occur and an increase in micro-transactions. Though i don't know the block chain can handle so many transactions at one time. We shall see.

Depends what you mean micro-transactions. If normal shopping amounts 10+ USD, should be not problem. Currently minimal amount to send is about 5500 satoshi, its not even 1 cent !

[Tirapon]

If everybody has it (or can borrow it), everybody wants it, and its fungible, divisible, transferable, and a store of value, then it will naturally become currency.

Simple really, isn't it?

[cheech300]

If everybody has it (or can borrow it), everybody wants it, and its fungible, divisible, transferable, and a store of value, then it will naturally become currency.

Simple really, isn't it?

Thats the point! It's really simple!!

[BitchicksHusband]

Bitcoin will remain a store of wealth for people and speculators for the foreseeable future. I think it might be used for microtransactions down the track.

Yeah I think microtransactions is a good way to get the masses on board.  This is a social network world now, I think people would be willing to tip bloggers or people they follow on a regular basis.  How do you tip someone a quarter on the internet?  Incredibly difficult and a niche Bitcoin can fulfill.

Flattr.com

[BitchicksHusband]

A store of wealth for the coming years, but still used for blackmarket transactions.

However eventually mass adoption will occur and an increase in micro-transactions. Though i don't know the block chain can handle so many transactions at one time. We shall see.

Depends what you mean micro-transactions. If normal shopping amounts 10+ USD, should be not problem. Currently minimal amount to send is about 5500 satoshi, its not even 1 cent !

I don't understand this.  I've never paid a fee and I've transferred a lot of BTC around.  I always get the full amount.  It may take an hour or two, but I'm in no hurry.