Are we still early adopters? Or did that pass after 2010/2011?

[ixne]

I think we're only just leaving the "Innovators" phase ATM. Once mining is out of the general public's hands we'll be in the "Early Adopter" stage.

This graph is a Gaussian curve, not a trend line (i.e., the y-axis has nothing to do with time). It says nothing about what "phase" we are in, unless you extrapolate how many people will use Bitcoin eventually to how many current users there are.

Further, given that it distributes the population exactly by standard deviation and mean it is basically useless subjective posturing. Funny how serious people tend to take anything that looks like a graph, however.

People say we missed the train...

Speak for yourself...

However, before you feel too sorry for yourself think about those poor folk who sold after the first big crash in 2011. It was VERY doom & gloom on these forums back then. Don't think that if you had just been here in 2011 you'd be a millionaire, because it was a much tougher decision whether to get out or keep the faith. Glad I chose the latter, because regret is a b*&!%.

[LiteCoinGuy]

today we are not very early adopters but early adopters. dont worry: cryptocurrencys have to go a long long way to get mainstream, far away from any significant adoption. i dont know ANYBODY who knows what bitcoin is. maybe you are lucky and meet someone who has heard of it. and the best: wallstreet and big players are just coming in the next years.

[haploid23]

Bitcoin started in 2009, and it's only 2013. It will be over 100 years until the very last of the 21million coins gets mined. If you look at it that way, BTC is still in its infancy.

[crazy_rabbit]

Still early adopters.

[Welsh]

We are still early adopters. Bitcoin is becoming more popular recently. Getting more coverage on the news and therefore encouraging more people to invest. Because of the price varying from prices tells us that there isn't near enough people investing. Whoever invested into Bitcoin before it stabilises are early adopters.

[mprep]

The fact that Bitcoin still gets major price flunctuations, tells that Bitcoin has still a small community, since minor occurrences really bumpmthe value.

[Mageant]

According to that chart, if we are currently less than 16% of the total number of people that will use Bitcoin, then we are still in early adopter phase.

We could even still be in the innovator phase if we are less than 2.5% of the final total. Imagine if "only" 10% of the world population ends up using Bitcoin. That's 700 million people.
There are certainly less than 17.5 million Bitcoin users worldwide currently.

[kireinaha]

Unless you own a crystal ball, there`s no way to tell where we are at right now. Bitcoin could stagnate from this point on and forever remain a niche currency for crypto geeks and devious online transactions, which means we could even be in the `late adopters` phase right now. In the small chance that bitcoin becomes a major, global currency, then certainly we`re still early on the curve. It`s anybody`s guess still, so let`s try not to delude ourselves.

[BlackShadow]

 At the moment I believe the vast majority of people think that bitcoin is something that they will never be able to understand. As time goes on and people become aware that its not all that tricky to deal with and also younger generations which are more technologicly inclined will  help in the Bitcoin going more mainstream. The early adoption phase could possibly last for anothert year or so I believe "if it actually makes it as a curency"

[superduh]

towards end of innovators beginning of early adopters. very few people own any bitcoins at all and only a handful more have even heard of them and *bothered* to understand. most are dismissive of it comparing it to tulip bulbs (which they never bought themselves) or beanie babies (which you'd have to be stupid to consider anything worthwhile)

[zvs]

if bitcoin still exists in 10 years or w/e, you'd be seen as early adopters

to me, anyone that started after the $2 2012 collapse isn't an early adopter

similarly, I suppose a lot of people that were around pre-2011 would consider anyone that started during the "boom" around mar-may of 2011 not an early adopter (re: about the first time bitcoin got some mainstream press)

[Ecurb123]

I also would say we don't know where we are because we don't know the future, if btc makes it big and runs for 200 more years, then yeah we're really really early still. Based on the fact that most people don't know what it is and the software is still a little rough, I think we're still in the early stages assuming it will keep going a long time.

[jeppe]

I think we are early on i have only met a few people that knew about bitcoin before i told them. But as always im trying to get everyone involved !!

[ABitBack]

I think it's impossible to tell what stage we're at. Face it guys, we all know where we want to see BTC going, but nobody knows for sure what the future will bring... If I do have to put BTC somewhere on that graph, I'd say we're nearing the end of 'innovators'. We're there because BTC is getting media attention and new people (not just geeks ) are gradually joining in. These new people often don't have a full grasp of the whole BTC concept though, so to put us in 'early adopter'-phase, I'd say we need some more general awareness of what BTC actually is and how it works, not just knowing it exists and investing because people smell easy money (which it not really is anymore, one coin has become too expensive for that...).

So in my opinion, the only way is up and you're still really early if you join in now. Where this will end (if it ever ends, let's hope it doesn't) is impossible to tell though. One coin might we worth 10k in a few years, it could very well be worth peanuts in a few months. Rollercoaster ride baby!

I can't see bitcoin being worth peanuts ever, well unless someone with 100k bitcoin sold to the bottom. Too many people have invested millions into this, and I dont mean just buying coins.

"one coin has become too expensive for that" - this is a psychological barrier holding back bitcoin adoption. 1 mBTC is worth $0.72. If we started trading in mBTC, we would have a second wave of early adopters. Selling your new ps4 and not even getting a whole bitcoin for it is a bit disheartening when in actual fact it's completely fair. Getting ~800mbtc sounds/feels like a better deal.

[Ibian]

There is enough growth potential to make ordinary people millionaires. So, early enough. Don't worry about your precise placement.

[DoomDumas]

I think we're only just leaving the "Innovators" phase ATM. Once mining is out of the general public's hands we'll be in the "Early Adopter" stage.

I agree with this.

May I add, the adoption by peoples and business is still very thin atm, growing very quickly, but only a very small percentage of poeples know about BTC.  The years to come will be very interesting !

[Digicoiner]

I almost got in when it was under $1.  I'd consider that the innovator stage. If bitcoin gains widespread acceptance then looking back this time would be considered the early adopter phase.   Remember,  that technology changes fast and something better could replace bitcoin entirely either in the near or distant future. Or bitcoin may share the space with several technologies.

[RodeoX]

I think I first heard about "early adopters" and "missing the boat" when we hit $1.

Ask your Mom if she knows about bitcoin. The day she says yes, the early adoption phase is over. Kinda like the day she friended you on FaceBook. 

[Ibian]

I think I first heard about "early adopters" and "missing the boat" when we hit $1.

Ask your Mom if she knows about bitcoin. The day she says yes, the early adoption phase is over. Kinda like the day she friended you on FaceBook. 

And just imagine if you had invested in facebook before the general public even knew about it? That's us.

[cdtc]

I think that we are still in the early adoption phase but not for so long.Because now you can read in the mainstream media about
bitoin at least once a week.