The future of Bitcoin as a sustainable currency.

[Ucy]

Bitcoin needs to be traded for goods and services for it to be a viable currency, in the past (and currently to a lesser extent) DNMs and illicit trades were the driver for Bitcoin and cryptos worth

As a community this large there must be people with the skills and creativity to come up with a sustainable public facing way of using Bitcoin/crypto as a form of currency, be it a Ebay-esque site to trade legal goods, or even setting up local networks for people to trade between themselves.

There's no lack of services that are built around Bitcoin, they just can't take off Bitcoin there's very little interest from the general public. Most people have already heard about Bitcoin and they are not interested.

Majority of people won't like cryptocurrency very much while still having digital fiats that are convenient to use..
The only "nice thing" that brought people to Bitcoin has been taken from them.

Trading is still profitable but only few people have the patience and skills to stick around and learn it.

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[MeEsH BaCcA]

There's no lack of services that are built around Bitcoin, they just can't take off Bitcoin there's very little interest from the general public. Most people have already heard about Bitcoin and they are not interested.

Majority of people won't like cryptocurrency very much while still having digital fiats that are convenient to use..
The only "nice thing" that brought people to Bitcoin has been taken from them.

Trading is still profitable but only few people have the patience and skills to stick around and learn it.

I can understand why people were buying crypto like crazy during the end of 2017, everyone wanted a slice of the get rich quick action. What I’ve noticed is, since that and the expensive TX fees the vast majority of high profile or easily accessible to the public places such as steam, pretty much every online computer retailer in the UK, nearly every single E-sig store on the high street in the UK, micro brewery pubs, independent coffee shops etc... today no longer accept Bitcoin or any crypto. In my eyes that’s a massive step back.

You’re right, digital fiat commerce is much more convinent and I wasn’t suggesting cryptos would be threatening than market but it’s the public perception, normalisation of seeing a Bitcoin sign or “crypto accepted here” that the public walk past and become more aware of.

I can remember growing up just before the internet became mainstream, people would have thought you were mad if you suggested putting your credit card details into some website to buy something, we have shops and mail order for that Etc... Now high street is dieing 20 years later, normalisation is a powerful thing, and crypto fluffed it with what happened in 2017.

[LeGaulois]

We need to change the mentalities of people and the finance industry. People are so used with the current system that they can't imagine an alternative is possible. They need to understand the Bitcoin's ideology, its advantages (as well as disadvantages), how we can change the economy and why it would be better to BYOB.

More the demand increases more solutions will come naturally, we will always have people/companies ready to provide solutions/services/open source projects/...  By demand, I mean people using it for real usages and not for trading). When the adoption will really start then we may begin to think that companies would have real advantages in using Bitcoin (either because they could increase their market, or because they would have a financial advantage, whatever reason).

Regulating Bitcoin is removing one of its advantages, and not a small one. Over-regulating will simply kill what Bitcoin was supposed to give us. At best, it will so become just another SOV or a currency only used on the www by few people and few e-commerce.

[BrewMaster]

i wouldn't call it worst year for bitcoin, etc to be honest. yeah we had a lot of scams and a lot of newbies lost a lot of money but that is just how the altcoin market has always worked. if you look at the altcoin charts you can see that every year or so we have the same situation with them being pumped a lot and then get dumped on the newbies who decide to bag hold them.

you are also ignoring all the real growth that bitcoin had during 2017 and 2018. with all the real adoption and the increase in number of merchants that are not accepting bitcoin as payment. not to mention how lightning network has been setting a new record every month.

[Dron555]

Bitcoin will do well. I can give an example of its value easily
1) I came to Munich, I had to change dollars for euros, you think it was just no, I had to go to the central bank all day and they told me the address of the bank that accepted dollars (at the station in the basement near the McDonalds and toilet was an American bank) The next time I changed bitcoins in 10 minutes.
2) I take myself to a citizen of the world and I want to freely move everywhere, and not to explain and lose time at the airports why and where I carry so much money, this is my own business.

Maybe someone will tell me to use credit cards, in that case I remember how easily they are stolen and you remain a beggar, hello to France. Plus, these are too old technologies and slow ones, those who have encountered their inhibition will understand me.

[BlackPanda]

Yes Bitcoin has a very good future, with support From various parties, Bitcoin is very likely to be a future of the digital financial system.
We all are just waiting for the occurrence of an ecosystem that is evenly distributed, Bitcoin will be a thing to look forward to in the future.

[Blockchainer06]

Money itself is a kind of credit, as long as the recipient believes that these currencies received this time can still be used for equivalent payment next time, whether the currency itself has value and use value is not important.
Earlier money, such as gold and silver, still had a certain use value, but its use value was far below the exchange value, which was rooted in the belief that it could continue to be used. With the development of monetary form, modern credit currencies such as French currency have almost no use value, but French currency can still be exchanged with other commodities as general equivalents, which is guaranteed by the law of the country and the trust of the people. Once the people lose trust in the government, this guarantee will be ineffective. In Zimbabwe, for example, because of hyperinflation caused by excessive currency issuance, nobody wanted to hold the Zimbabwe dollar, and eventually the government had to abandon issuing its own currency and allow the use of foreign currencies.
Similarly, Bitcoin, like French currency, has no use value. What guarantees its credit and exchange value is an impeccable cryptographic algorithm and an open distribution mechanism.
Bitcoin has been attacked by hackers for more than eight years, but it has never been attacked, and its security and reliability have been fully verified. Historically, hackers such as Mt. Gox have stolen bitcoins because of poor internal management, insufficient system security and even self-theft. Additionally, the natural scarcity of Bitcoin's 21 million issuance cap is comparable to or even beyond gold and silver, making it more trustworthy than most French currencies.

[Kakmakr]

I agree with you on the fact that we need to have more killer applications for Bitcoin to make it a sustainable currency for the future and that is why I suggested this, https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5104499.msg49541786#msg49541786   

Yes, we cannot ignore the fact that Bitcoin will be used for illegal activities, but it is the norm for all currencies and payment systems around the world. <Cash, credit cards, PayPal etc.>

Changing people's perception after all the damage that was done with scams and hacks, might be our biggest challenge in the future. 

[eaLiTy]

I agree with you on the fact that we need to have more killer applications for Bitcoin to make it a sustainable currency for the future and that is why I suggested this, https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5104499.msg49541786#msg49541786   

There is no doubt about having great front end application, which attracts novice users to bitcoin and we need to find more solutions on holding the coins in exchanges, hopefully we will have a dual private key system in the future so that no coins will be hacked in the future from any exchanges.

Yes, we cannot ignore the fact that Bitcoin will be used for illegal activities, but it is the norm for all currencies and payment systems around the world. <Cash, credit cards, PayPal etc.>

A good analysis can find the entire transactions and if someone is doing something illegally, i am sure with the right sense he would not want the world to know that and have an online record for transaction for his act. Only fools will do such things, billions of fiats are transfered to terrorist groups, how come we find that terrorist groups are funneling bitcoin to fund their activities, how come he know that, it is simply because everything is transparent.

Changing people's perception after all the damage that was done with scams and hacks, might be our biggest challenge in the future. 

The bigger transaction fees was the first hurdle as many merchants stopped accepting bitcoin and then comes the hacks and scams, with regulations and tight scrutiny we could control this and hopefully we will achieve this.

[o_e_l_e_o]

There is no doubt about having great front end application, which attracts novice users to bitcoin and we need to find more solutions on holding the coins in exchanges, hopefully we will have a dual private key system in the future so that no coins will be hacked in the future from any exchanges.

Surely if exchanges do this, with essentially a multi-sig wallet for each customer, they are then would be unable to pool funds into cold storage wallets or batch transactions. Fees would go up, not just for this reason, but also it would be a huge amount of extra work to process withdrawals.

In terms of a "killer app", I'm envisioning something like a reverse BitPay, where I can swipe my phone over a payment terminal and it would debit my wallet with the right amount of bitcoins, automatically convert them to fiat, and then pay the merchant in fiat.

[GunsLair]

The forecast for bitcoin's price for 2019 is very difficult to make, since there are still many obstacles and possible prohibitions on its way. But many analysts and traders are inclined to believe that bitcoin is expecting steady growth this year, thanks to large companies that are able to increase the amount of invested funds in it. And I agree that bitcoin expect a prosperous future.

[pawanjain]

Bitcoin will be adopted when it's ready to be so. For now, pretty much all we can do is to wait.

About the scams though? While it's definitely unfortunate that a lot of people lost money due to they scams(and possibly are turned away from the cryptocurrency space because of this), there's so little we can do unfortunately. Scams have existed since forever, and will continue to exist for years to come. It's honestly partly their fault, as they just throw their money wherever, without doing any research at all.

That is the reason why they say that nobody is perfect. Nobody could design a system that does not have any defects.
Bitcoin will grow and spread when it has to. Few of the successful things have become successful on it's own and bitcoin might be one among them.

[deisik]

In terms of a "killer app", I'm envisioning something like a reverse BitPay, where I can swipe my phone over a payment terminal and it would debit my wallet with the right amount of bitcoins, automatically convert them to fiat, and then pay the merchant in fiat

But isn't this exactly how Bitcoin payment cards are supposed to work? When you pay with them, basically the same sequence of events occurs. At first you send bitcoins to your wallet and then at the cashier's your bitcoins get converted to fiat which is paid to the merchant. And as far as I know, BitPay also issues prepaid Visa cards. In this way, a debit card is working like your phone (and if you ask me, payment cards are more convenient)

So what did I miss in your post (or maybe something else)?

[arpon11]

Bitcoin been used as an exchange for goods and services without third party involvement was the major reason for it developments and we are still far from achieving that.  If we must keep third party out of transactions then we must try and understand what blockchain stand for and stop using bitcoin as a speculatives assets. For big companies and individual to start using bitcoin as a mode of exchange for goods and services bitcoin must be able to get stable in pricing because that is were the whole issues are.  The volatility nature of bitcoin is not too favorable for adoption.

[o_e_l_e_o]

-snip-

In my opinion, payment cards are way less convenient. I'm thinking of something like Apple Pay or Google Pay, without pre-paying or pre-loading anything, without registering and giving away your details, etc. Just your bitcoin wallet on your phone, swipe a terminal, paid. <5 seconds, no KYC, no hassle. Essentially allowing you to pay in bitcoin to stores that don't yet accept bitcoin. That's an app I would use, but perhaps others don't feel the same.

[deisik]

-snip-

In my opinion, payment cards are way less convenient. I'm thinking of something like Apple Pay or Google Pay, without pre-paying or pre-loading anything, without registering and giving away your details, etc. Just your bitcoin wallet on your phone, swipe a terminal, paid. <5 seconds, no KYC, no hassle. Essentially allowing you to pay in bitcoin to stores that don't yet accept bitcoin. That's an app I would use, but perhaps others don't feel the same

If no KYC (or anything similar) is required, then I'm okay with that

I just meant to say that using phone (physically handling it) is not very convenient. Why would anyone want to see your phone at all, especially when you are standing in line? I've seen people using their phones this way, and it doesn't look like a very bright idea to me

Though personally, I would prefer to have that option for litecoins as Bitcoin should be used as a store of value and as a tool for wealth transfer (I mean real wealth). You see, Bitcoin gives value to altcoins (this goes without saying and further debates), so if Litecoin usage expands, Bitcoin should also profit from it (it's sort of giving back)

[bitbunnny]

Unlike many here I think that regulation and KYC could really help Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. It would give it legitimacy, legal security and framework that would make it more acceptable for businesses and economy. It's true that scams are always present and everywhere money and profit is involved, scams are also. KYC can't fully prevent and protect from scam but still it can help.
Of course with regulation and KYC rules should be done very carefuly respecting the very essence of Bitcoin and its main idea but I beleive that with some efforts and good will it could be done properly on benefit of all.

[Blockchainer06]

Bitcoin is different from other currencies in the past. It relies entirely on the Internet to create and trade. Bitcoin's unique technical attributes derive its economic and cultural attributes beyond the current currency. Bitcoin is an electronic currency produced by open source P2P software. Compared with the current banknotes, the biggest characteristics of Bitcoin are decentralization and global circulation in the network world, followed by high security and high confidentiality. These technical attributes further extend the attributes of non-inflation, non-freezing in economy and non-artificial operation in supply. In culture, Bitcoin is popular among anarchists and liberals. The advantages of Bitcoin have been artificially exaggerated, and its anti-inflation and anti-inflation functions can not withstand scrutiny. In the long run, Bit's prospects are difficult to match gold. In the most optimistic case, Bit's prospects are to become a means of payment in local areas. But in the short and medium term, Bit still has room for speculation and imagination. In addition, the use of Bitcoin in some sensitive areas highlights the increasingly prominent role of information in national security.

1. The advantages of Bitcoin are exaggerated: on decentralization, no transaction costs and inflation prevention

Admittedly, Bitcoin has various advantages over paper money, but these advantages have been over-interpreted. First of all, Bitcoin is a kind of de-centralized currency. It does not have the risk of central bank controlling money supply affecting market value as paper money is a conditional advantage. Bitcoin is mainly held in the hands of big customers, and the market is not deep enough. At present, the buying and selling behavior of big customers is very easy to affect the price of Bitcoin, even when the de-centralization is regarded as a property when Bitcoin is fully mature. Advantages, then, should be added to the prerequisite of holding decentralization. In addition, the degree and type of financial risks exposed by centralized and decentralized online payment systems differ greatly.

Secondly, the low transaction costs of Bitcoin are not without transaction costs. On the contrary, due to the increasing difficulty of Bitcoin mining and the further stability of the currency value, the relevant trading platforms will increase their dependence on transaction costs, which will certainly increase transaction costs. Finally, the confidentiality of the Bitcoin transaction remains to be discussed. The principle of the Bitcoin transaction enables all the processes of each Bitcoin transaction to be stored in each machine. If someone can determine the real background of a transaction, all transactions can be found downward through the data.

Compared with other advantages, the advertised advantages of anti-inflation or anti-inflation attributes can hardly stand scrutiny. Although its supply is stable and the upper limit of supply is locked according to its algorithm, unless the global unification is achieved and all countries use bits as their currency, it can only serve as a means of payment or a store of value, which can not prevent currency oversupply, just as the current existence of gold can not restrain the growth of National currencies. If bits can only be used as a means of payment in local areas (e.g. networks), global or some countries'inflation will still be transmitted to the areas where bits are used. Therefore, the use of bits to prevent inflation is basically not valid or has strong assumptions. As for inflation prevention, that is, to have value storage function, it needs to have gold-like attributes, but in reality, the essential attributes and prospects of bits are still difficult to match gold, as detailed below.
2. Bitcoin has too high foreground

The market's expectations of Bitcoin's prospects are generally higher than those of gold and the dollar. The recognition of gold is not only due to its natural physical properties, but also due to its official acceptance as a reserve currency (or an important allocation of foreign exchange assets). In theory, as an electronic currency, Bitcoin does not have the status of uniqueness and exclusiveness, and it is more difficult to become the official reserve of central banks like gold. Therefore, it is not appropriate to expect too much from Peter. As an electronic currency, bits have the advantage of first-mover. If it can be guaranteed in terms of security, the most optimistic prospect of bits is to be used as a means of payment in local areas.

3. The speculation and speculative demand caused by event factors are the main reasons for the rise of Bitcoin in this round.

Under the credit monetary system, people's lack of confidence in the currencies of various countries and their pessimistic economic prospects are the general environment for the rise of Bitcoin. The market's major traders and Bitcoin derivatives market speculation and participants'speculative psychology further accelerated its rise. Incidents such as BTCChina's $5 million investment and Bernanke's announcement are the main drivers of the recent surge.

However, many big crocodiles began to enter the market and buy a lot, which promoted the price of bits to rise and also increased market risk. Chamath, a former Facebook executive, has spent $5 million on Bitcoin and plans to spend another $10 million. Bitcoin Investment Trust also overfulfilled its target in four weeks, raising $15 million. These investments make Bitcoin rise further while concentrating Bitcoin holdings, which strengthens the impact of individuals and institutions on the price of Bitcoin and increases market risks.

4. Short and medium term bits still have strong speculation space.

Although our previous analysis is not optimistic about the future of Bit, it is likely that Bit will still have strong speculative space in a short to medium term period of one year. As in the previous analysis, Bitcoin creators advocate that the creation of Bitcoin is not manipulated by human factors, which is very different from the credit currencies of various countries. We anticipate that next year the major countries'monetary policies may be divided, and Bitcoin will have better speculation and imagination when economic risks are released and traditional asset markets are severely damaged.

5. The use of Bitcoin in some sensitive areas highlights the increasingly prominent role of information in national security.

The U.S. government seized the drug-trading website SilkRoad early last month. A crowdsourcing network called "Assassination Market" has even marked the sale of murderers with bitcoins. The founder of the assassination market, named Kuwabatake Sanjuro, is an extreme anarchist. Whether the prism gate incident or the use of Bitcoin in the relevant sensitive areas, all highlight the increasingly prominent position of the information field in national security. The Third Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee proposed the establishment of the National Security Committee, which will play an important role in China's security strategy and expand from traditional national defense, stability/urban security to new areas such as information security.

[Herbert2020]

Unlike many here I think that regulation and KYC could really help Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. It would give it legitimacy, legal security and framework that would make it more acceptable for businesses and economy. It's true that scams are always present and everywhere money and profit is involved, scams are also. KYC can't fully prevent and protect from scam but still it can help.
Of course with regulation and KYC rules should be done very carefuly respecting the very essence of Bitcoin and its main idea but I beleive that with some efforts and good will it could be done properly on benefit of all.

the key point is in the second paragraph.
people always forget that regulations are not the same everywhere. it is not black and white either. as a result they always fall off the roof with their opinions about regulation. it doesn't have to be bad or good. it can be either or even both! there are times that we see regulations that actually help the growth but sometimes they even prevent it to the point that some license laws and tax laws has forced companies to move headquarters.

[Yamifoud]

Bitcoin is the currency is a very potential crypto currency. Honestly, I am one of those proud crypto users that is still keep on using Bitcoin crypto currency as my main crypto medium for different transactions where I can use it. Well, in the current crypto market, no doubt why people are hesitation to tell that in the future Bitcoin still remains. But if we can clearly see and down dip into it, Bitcoin still the capable to be a sustainable currency in the coming future.

We believe it as a sustainable currency cause we saw its future and we believe that it have capability but for the others, they'll look this a joke or another form of scams. We know that they are wrong and we can't push them to believe and be a part of crypto family, letting them to discover of its greatness and contribution to the community will make them amaze.