Will you ever be able to pay for a coffee with Bitcoin?

[BrewMaster]

It could also be a problem if you wallet is on a full node, and you have to sync it on your laptop before you can pay. If the restaurant has WiFi, allows for internet ordering, and offers table service, then that could work.

you don't need to sync a full node to spend unless you are too far behind and don't have the transaction output that you want to spend.
for example if total blocks are 60000 and you have until 50000 as long as the UTXO you want to spend is from anywhere below 50000 and you have not spent it before you can still make a transaction and broadcast it easily.

[jackg]

It could also be a problem if you wallet is on a full node, and you have to sync it on your laptop before you can pay. If the restaurant has WiFi, allows for internet ordering, and offers table service, then that could work.

you don't need to sync a full node to spend unless you are too far behind and don't have the transaction output that you want to spend.
for example if total blocks are 60000 and you have until 50000 as long as the UTXO you want to spend is from anywhere below 50000 and you have not spent it before you can still make a transaction and broadcast it easily.

Or you could just use the console to sign and broadcast the transaction using the inputs from a block explorer?

[Harlot]

Bitcoin is sort of a wildcard when it comes to in the line payments as if legality is not a problem it will always be up to the business owner if they want to accept Bitcoin as a mode of payment. Altcoins on the other hand have a better chance, some altcoin developers are always partnering up with other companies to make their token unique or provide a better payment system compared to Bitcoin. If they partner up the right restaurant or fast food chain expect that altcoin to be used in that establishment.

[Crypto_Sassy]

Bitcoin is sort of a wildcard when it comes to in the line payments as if legality is not a problem it will always be up to the business owner if they want to accept Bitcoin as a mode of payment. Altcoins on the other hand have a better chance, some altcoin developers are always partnering up with other companies to make their token unique or provide a better payment system compared to Bitcoin. If they partner up the right restaurant or fast food chain expect that altcoin to be used in that establishment.

Look like original discussion (How to purchase coffee using bitcoin) is now moving to different direction. Using Altcoin will never equal to using the bitcoin.
I think we should wait for LN to be fully functional.

Actually buying a coffee with BTC might not be the Satoshi priority. Satoshi was working for a Peer to Peer currency not for Peer to Business currency.
So further enhancement and development needed for BTC to be successful as peer to business currency.

[retprogramisto]

It will be possible with lightning network.

Even without lightning network, the risk of double spending a $2 transaction for coffee is low. There are online stores that require 0 confirmations for low amount transactions (under $20), even though waiting 10 minutes isnt a problem for online purchases.

As people said, it could also be possible to buy giftcards with bitcoin (e.g. for grocery stores, electronics stores, where waiting 10 minutes could be annoying). Personally I would be happy to buy a giftcard for groceries, electronics, restaurants, etc. with bitcoin.

[Arching_wild]

In the next future, you will be able to pay everything, not only a coffee, in Bitcoin.

[BrewMaster]

It could also be a problem if you wallet is on a full node, and you have to sync it on your laptop before you can pay. If the restaurant has WiFi, allows for internet ordering, and offers table service, then that could work.

you don't need to sync a full node to spend unless you are too far behind and don't have the transaction output that you want to spend.
for example if total blocks are 60000 and you have until 50000 as long as the UTXO you want to spend is from anywhere below 50000 and you have not spent it before you can still make a transaction and broadcast it easily.

Or you could just use the console to sign and broadcast the transaction using the inputs from a block explorer?

yeah as long as you trust that block explorer to be correct and without bugs.
and if we start talking about possibilities then there are lots of them. for example you should technically be able to use BIP37 or bloom filters to get what you need from the nodes in a decentralized way. or figure out how Electrum nodes communicate and just send a request to one of them asking for your transaction history!

[grandfox0502]

Answering your last question. I would say we probably will see a cafe, using a cryptocurrency as a payment method, but it is not obligatory a btc, but may it be the other crypto. Who knows...

[lotao]

In fact, merchants in many places accept Bitcoin as a means of payment, but such merchants are not spread all over the world! So it is unrealistic to want to buy goods at any time with Bitcoin!

[coly20032003]

I think it is definitely possible to pay for a coffee with bitcoin. I remember there are already some stores, both local stores and online stores accept bitcoin as a payment. There will be more and more such stores in the future. There is a korean restaurant near where I live accept bitcoin and bitcoin cash as payment.

[Daydream 61]

personally i think i can pay for a beer with electroneum in liverpool before i can pay a coffee with BTC in london. we have been waiting many years for a payment with btc and nothing happened yet.

[TryNinja]

personally i think i can pay for a beer with electroneum in liverpool before i can pay a coffee with BTC in london. we have been waiting many years for a payment with btc and nothing happened yet.

What do you mean? It already happened multiple times.

Search for "buying coffee bitcoin" on youtube and there will be multiple examples of it. Even buying coffee with the Lightning Network is possible[1]. On the other side, who would accept "electroneum" for a beer?

[1] https://twitter.com/danielalexiuc/status/993667149238435840

[James.Bennett]

I think the question should look like this:
When buying coffee for bitcoin will become commonplace?
This will require the implementation of such second layer solutions as Lightning network or Rootstock