I went to a bitcoin meetup Many people there had bitcoin, no-one actually use it

[jonathan6655321]

I went to a bitcoin meetup in my town (I'm going every few weeks for almost 2 years)
Because the market is rising now I somehow got into a talk with like 8 people about what they did recently or plan to do with their bitcoins.

All of them didn't touch their portfolio since the beginning of 2018
They didn't even use it for a small transaction.

there is a topic that always someone mentions and that's 'Why would I use bitcoin to buy something today when in two months from now my bitcoin might worth double'

I don't use my bitcoins as well and in some way, I think that the hodl approach is hurting us. I would like to know what the community here thinks.

[mk4]

there is a topic that always someone mentions and that's 'Why would I use bitcoin to buy something today when in two months from now my bitcoin might worth double'

I've always had mixed feelings with this. I personally couldn't still have a solid decision if I agree with it or not. It makes sense though, because why would you spend something that could be worth a lot more in the future; but at the same time, it defeats the peer-to-peer cash use-case.

I believe it can be both though. But it just depends on the person I guess? In the end, it's their money so they can freely choose to either hold or spend.

[Pursuer]

All of them didn't touch their portfolio since the beginning of 2018
They didn't even use it for a small transaction.

that has always been the case during bear markets. people tend to not spend their bitcoins when price is falling and on the contrary when price is rising (the bull market like what we had in 2017) they are more willing to spend it because of the price rise.
for example if you check BitPay's annual stats report you can see in their monthly charts that the ATH of people spending money through their services (which means buying things from merchants with bitcoin) coincides with ATH of price.

[figmentofmyass]

bitcoin's monetary properties definitely discourages spending. this is natural due to gresham's law---why spend bitcoin when you could spend your quickly inflating fiat money instead? bad money drives good money out of circulation.

fortunately, there is strong and growing demand for bitcoin's trustless, borderless, censorship-resistant payments in spite of the temptation to hoard it. transaction volume continues to rise: https://www.blockchain.com/en/charts/n-transactions-per-block?timespan=all

[Ethan Sanders]

I went to a bitcoin meetup in my town (I'm going every few weeks for almost 2 years)
Because the market is rising now I somehow got into a talk with like 8 people about what they did recently or plan to do with their bitcoins.

All of them didn't touch their portfolio since the beginning of 2018
They didn't even use it for a small transaction.

there is a topic that always someone mentions and that's 'Why would I use bitcoin to buy something today when in two months from now my bitcoin might worth double'

I don't use my bitcoins as well and in some way, I think that the hodl approach is hurting us. I would like to know what the community here thinks.

Interesting fact - I often meet the signs "we accept bitcoin" at the points of street food. Does anyone really buy hotdogs for bitcoins? All my friends just do not. They consider cryptocurrency a long-term investment. I disagree. A long-term investment is a real estate. And bitcoin is a big purchase.

[hatshepsut93]

I spend Bitcoin in a sense that I sell it and spend obtained fiat, but the last time I actually used Bitcoin as a currency was in 2017 when Steam accepted Bitcoin. I just don't know what to do with Bitcoin - I'm not interested in gambling, sex services, darknet goods - the things that you usually can buy with BTC.

fortunately, there is strong and growing demand for bitcoin's trustless, borderless, censorship-resistant payments in spite of the temptation to hoard it. transaction volume continues to rise: https://www.blockchain.com/en/charts/n-transactions-per-block?timespan=all

Those things are important in certain narrow scenarios, and they do make Bitcoin very valuable, but those things don't apply to our everyday transactions like buying groceries, and in this situations it can be hard for Bitcoin to compete, because it comes with burdens like managing your own keys, while payment companies are giving people bonuses like cashback for using them.

[figmentofmyass]

fortunately, there is strong and growing demand for bitcoin's trustless, borderless, censorship-resistant payments in spite of the temptation to hoard it. transaction volume continues to rise: https://www.blockchain.com/en/charts/n-transactions-per-block?timespan=all

Those things are important in certain narrow scenarios, and they do make Bitcoin very valuable, but those things don't apply to our everyday transactions like buying groceries, and in this situations it can be hard for Bitcoin to compete, because it comes with burdens like managing your own keys, while payment companies are giving people bonuses like cashback for using them.

people need to use bitcoin for it to remain valuable. there's no doubt about that. but it doesn't mean everybody needs to use it for their coffee or grocery transactions. there is a middle ground between "no transactions at all" and "buying your coffee everyday with bitcoin" right? i'm guessing bitcoin will occupy that middle ground. for everything else, there's offchain solutions......or credit cards.

[avikz]

I went to a bitcoin meetup in my town (I'm going every few weeks for almost 2 years)
Because the market is rising now I somehow got into a talk with like 8 people about what they did recently or plan to do with their bitcoins.

All of them didn't touch their portfolio since the beginning of 2018
They didn't even use it for a small transaction.

there is a topic that always someone mentions and that's 'Why would I use bitcoin to buy something today when in two months from now my bitcoin might worth double'

I don't use my bitcoins as well and in some way, I think that the hodl approach is hurting us. I would like to know what the community here thinks.

It is a common mindset everywhere in the world! No one actually uses bitcoin, instead they are just adding to their hoardings! But if you think that it is only their mindset, then it's wrong as well! Unless and until you are living in Japan or Germany, you won't find a single place to spend your bitcoins! In my country, I can find zero places where I can actually spend my bitcoins against any product or services. So it is not only mindset, rather it is the scarcity of the merchants who accepts bitcoin as well!

HODL approach is definitely hurting us, but we are also helpless in this case because we can't find any single place to spend that bitcoins! 

[Vinalians]

That is the problem in so many people today. We can't blame them because some of them, actually many of them knew bitcoin because of it's value. The inflation and volatility of it. They knew bitcoin including myself that bitcoin can be worth more valuable in the future. Time will come and many of people will also know bitcoin but I'm sure in the near future the idea of bitcoin will be so much useful.
I sometimes use bitcoin as a mode of payment but not always also because of the value of it, the increasing of it and I will regret if the value comes up again and I have no hold even small amount of it so I am not using it every time in my transaction.

[o_e_l_e_o]

HODL approach is definitely hurting us, but we are also helpless in this case because we can't find any single place to spend that bitcoins!

Go out and change that then!

No vendor is going to go to the effort of starting to accept bitcoin unless they know there is a demand for it. Ask places if they accept bitcoin. Get your friends to do the same. Sure, this isn't going to work with big national corporations (although I have emailed a couple of companies which I frequent asking them to consider bitcoin - no luck yet), but it can often work with small independent retailers - anything from food trucks and stands through to a gym or personal trainer.

Personally I spend several hundred dollars worth of bitcoin every month, both in personal and online, while also adding to my longer term holding stack. Best of both worlds.

[joseafonso123az]

The fact is, even I dont use what I have in terms of cryptos. Where I live, theres is not that much of knowledge about it, so there is no way I can use it in my market. Online I could, but havent yet. Maybe for trading, it might be more useful at this time. I also believe that the Holders of the cryptos have also mistrust in using BTC, that is why it is not getting used between the big companies and industries.

[aad140386]

There are rational thoughts in your words, and I think every thinking person has thought about this more than once. With sadness, it must be stated that all these years Bitcoin has been an asset for investment, but not by any means of payment. To pay for something, it is used in the best case of 3-5% of all investors. Bitkion is now used as high-yield and high-risk bonds. I hope that in the future everything will change. But this requires a stable bitcoin rate.

[Red-Apple]

that is exactly why we have not yet reached mass adoption stage and are stuck in a very small percentage of adoption which experts estimate to be around 1% only.
exactly because many people aren't still spending their bitcoins and only use it as an investment. of course the high fees doesn't help that much either.

[Jating]

I don't use my bitcoins as well and in some way, I think that the hodl approach is hurting us. I would like to know what the community here thinks.

Why would the HODL approach hurt us though, I mean you can just buy forget about and that is. And that is why bitcoin to others is more of an investment or store of value, but on the opposite of the spectrum those who wanted to used it as a sound money.

Personally though, I used my coins to pay my monthly bills, and then I store some. And then I buy when I had a chance. I think we can't blame those who wanted to hodl for so long and those who wanted to used it as money.

[xvids]

We all have different opinion on this topic some of us would agree to it and would rather hold it than to use it.
But there are some people who also wants it to be accepted as a regular currency to be used like a normal payment method to be accepted by everyone.
And how could we do it if there are more people who only see's it as an investment and wouldn't use it as a currency?
And if they also want to gain profit why not use it for trading instead of waiting for something ?
They could earn more if they do some short trades as long as they would do it properly.

[waynechong1995]

I think it's evitable where people start thinking BTC purely as stored value, and the reality might just be it, you don't trade gold by pieces but through papers, so does BTC soon on exhanges one day. An asset with constant price growth deter almost all economically transactions and im think that's it for now. You can't stop it until it falls yet people still gulp it and store it for another pump. Along with increasing popular leasing for interest businesses, most of the BTCs would be cold stored forever

[Mpamaegbu]

I don't use my bitcoins as well and in some way, I think that the hodl approach is hurting us. I would like to know what the community here thinks.

Yes of course it is hurting the reason for the creation of Bitcoin if we all continue to hodl without making use if it as per peer2peer exchange. What gives a commodity its value is transaction. How would anyone know the value of Bitcoin if we don't put it out there on sale? Remember that the first transaction of Bitcoin was recorded with that 10,000btc exchange for pizza. Without that exchange it would've been impossible to record any transaction. So, dude free some Bitcoin and encourage mass adoption.

[Lucius]

It is a common mindset everywhere in the world! No one actually uses bitcoin, instead they are just adding to their hoardings! But if you think that it is only their mindset, then it's wrong as well! Unless and until you are living in Japan or Germany, you won't find a single place to spend your bitcoins!

You're completely wrong, many people use bitcoin as a means of payment, and Japan or Germany are no exceptions on the map of the world. I live in EU (not Germany), and I can buy any electronic equipment /device (TV, PC, mobile phone...), gold, even bakery products or I can do a haircut and pay direct with bitcoin. I use bitcoin on a weekly basis, not some big amounts, but still it is currency for me - In addition I think it is a very good way to store value.

If you search with basic keywords there is so many sites that will give you good info where to spend bitcoins.

https://cryptomaniaks.com/latest-cryptocurrency-news/where-can-i-spend-bitcoin
https://coinmap.org/#/world/43.32517768/48.51562500/2
https://99bitcoins.com/bitcoin/who-accepts/

[Dreamchaser21]

I went to a bitcoin meetup in my town (I'm going every few weeks for almost 2 years)
Because the market is rising now I somehow got into a talk with like 8 people about what they did recently or plan to do with their bitcoins.

All of them didn't touch their portfolio since the beginning of 2018
They didn't even use it for a small transaction.

there is a topic that always someone mentions and that's 'Why would I use bitcoin to buy something today when in two months from now my bitcoin might worth double'

I don't use my bitcoins as well and in some way, I think that the hodl approach is hurting us. I would like to know what the community here thinks.

I use my bitcoin in small transactions, and I don't mind spending it because I know i deserve to spend it and bitcoin is created to use it. The price is rising and it becomes an investment for someone, that his goal for sure and we can't force them to use bitcoin. I'm sure many here are using bitcoin into many things, and that's why the price keeps on going high.

[Kriptonian1661]

Everyone bagging for maximum profit i love the patience and hope people are having in the Crypto Market !