Bitcoin Will Not Be a Medium of Exchange

[sockpuppet1911]

How about eth and xrp? Somehow thesee two are primary contender for the btc. Well the marketcap seems to be not marching towards btc but when it comes to different aspect I think technically these two are way better than btc. I'm not saying they can overwhelm btc price that much but the tech itself are proven useful. Especially eth network.

This is seriously really strange thread, xrp better then btc? In what way? They can close xrp if they want, it has nothing on bitcoin. Bitcoin doesn't need permissions and it can't be shut down.

[hatshepsut93]

Gresham’s law: bad money drives out good money

Gresham’s law does not apply to cryptocurrencies. We don't have face value here, market value is the only value we'll ever have. This law describes fiat currencies only, and even then it's less relevant now when currencies are made out of paper and don't hold much value on their own.

So, your whole argument is wrong, and there's no reason to think that shitcoins will be more adopted than BTC. No one is going to hold dozens of cryptocurrencies and then spend the worst coins first while saving good coins - people will stick to one good coin, Bitcoin, and will use it for both saving and spending.

[efxtrader]

How about eth and xrp? Somehow thesee two are primary contender for the btc. Well the marketcap seems to be not marching towards btc but when it comes to different aspect I think technically these two are way better than btc. I'm not saying they can overwhelm btc price that much but the tech itself are proven useful. Especially eth network.

This is seriously really strange thread, xrp better then btc? In what way? They can close xrp if they want, it has nothing on bitcoin. Bitcoin doesn't need permissions and it can't be shut down.

It's clear that Bitcoin is better than XRP if we know the fact that XRP's founder holds more supply. Bitcoin has been trusted and recognized by many as digital assets and this is clearly different from what happened in XRP

[poornamelessme]

Another person talking shit. I spend bitcoin all the time. Stop lying and spreading misinformation. Which third world countries are you talking about that have money that fluctuates like that?
You say you won't spend bitcoin because it will be worth more in the future? Then convert all your fiat into bitcoin because using fiat to buy something is the same as buying bitcoin with the fiat beforehand the only exception is that you are using a superior payment method instead of crappy fiat.

The fact that BTC can be used as a currency doesn't mean it'll ever be used as a widespread medium of exchange. That is what I took the OP's message as, that it won't catch on and be widespread. Of course BTC could buy 'something'. LTC can buy stuff too, and I expect Doge as well. I recall Beancash could be used to buy stuff if willing to jump through some payment hoops -- but I wouldn't exactly say it's going to be an everyday currency used by most people.

If you feel otherwise, that's fine. I simply don't think the volatility issue will really ever be fixed. BTC as 'digital gold' is still good enough, that's at least a real world use.

As for countries with currency issues, Venuzuela comes to mind.

I can buy almost anything I want in my country with bitcoin aside from pay bills and buy food. I use bitcoin more then I use cash or the bank. It is already widespread. You can pay for many things online from many differnt countries. Everything digital I have paid with crypto. That means it is wide spread. The fact it is in africa being used means it is widespread. I have bought so many things with crypto from seeds and garndeing supplies to entire pc setups tables laptops. Shoes, stuff for the kitchen, curtains, eating utensils and everything in between. So there you go there are thousands of real world uses. So stop talking shit. Look at this web site bidorbuy.co.za eeverything there can be paid with bitcoin. Thats an entire market place like Amazon and you tell me it is not widespread.  

I think we have a different definition of 'widespread'. I am not referring to the number or types of items you can buy with BTC. There are plenty. And if we compare BTC to most alts, BTC will be the crypto in widest use as a medium of exchange (at least currently).

But when I state widespread use, I mean it in regard to a large percentage of the general population using BTC as as a medium of exchange.  And that certainly isn't happening. BTC would need to be used in a similar fashion as paypal, for instance, to say it's a common medium of exchange.

I don't see that ever happening due to the volatility issue. Again, if you feel otherwise, that's fine. I'm not here to argue the point or try to put BTC down (as besides owning BTC, I consider store of value a real-world use and good enough).

[karanggatak]

Bitcoin world domination does not reduce price volatility

To me, that is the biggest flaw with the idea of ever using btc as an everyday currency. And I see no real solution ever presenting itself.

As a store of value, digital gold, sure, btc could work. But as a replacement for fiat, not really, outside of 3rd world nations with hyperinflation. And even there, BTC probably isn't the ideal crypto to use in place of fiat.

For a crypto to catch on as a medium of exchange, first off it needs to be stable. Then it needs to charge less fees than credit cards do, and be just as fast. And consumers will need to be able to use this crypto seamlessly, as easy as other forms of payment, and ideally it'd have to be cheaper to use from a consumer standpoint than a credit card which typically offers 1-5% back. So.... umm... currently no cryptos really qualify, and btc certainly doesn't.

Yes, I agree with you that making bitcoin as a real currency and a medium of exchange is indeed quite difficult. first because bitcoin is very volatile. secondly also because bitcoin transfer fees are quite expensive and making payments with bitcoin is quite complicated. easier to use cash or debit cards. and now there are many stores that don't accept bitcoin as a means of payment.
so in my opinion bitcoin is suitable for investment and trading tools but not for exchange.

[yanto@1977]

To increase my asset quantity and knowledge about trading/ investment bitcoin still become the main option, for another purposes I'll say " NO ". As long many counties still not accept bitcoin this instrument can't change world economy. Bitcoin is not gold/ stock/ mortgage, it has different behavior and network. Just follow the news, up date the information and use it at the right place and moment. 

[o48o]

*snip*
But when I state widespread use, I mean it in regard to a large percentage of the general population using BTC as as a medium of exchange.  And that certainly isn't happening. BTC would need to be used in a similar fashion as paypal, for instance, to say it's a common medium of exchange.
*snip*

I really don't understand why wouldn't it be happening, i heard same things about the internet in 90s, that the majority will not use it. It's too hard to use and people are losing money and almost every fud you can link it to like terrorism.

I see the volatility as a passing trend because bitcoin is still looking for its value, i see the problem being that the real value of bitcoin is too high for us to get in there without insane bounces.
Comparing it to success of any other payment system is not even relevant, because bitcoin is extremely different model to any of them. It's not a company, this has never been tried in all the history so we have no reference point to anything. Especially not to some companies.

There's no ceo that can stabilize the price and that's why it's going to be more valuable then any asset we have seen before imho.

[dnprock]

Gresham’s law: bad money drives out good money

Gresham’s law does not apply to cryptocurrencies. We don't have face value here, market value is the only value we'll ever have. This law describes fiat currencies only, and even then it's less relevant now when currencies are made out of paper and don't hold much value on their own.

So, your whole argument is wrong, and there's no reason to think that shitcoins will be more adopted than BTC. No one is going to hold dozens of cryptocurrencies and then spend the worst coins first while saving good coins - people will stick to one good coin, Bitcoin, and will use it for both saving and spending.

I think Gresham's law does apply to cryptocurrencies. Fiat currencies are the bad coins that people circulate. People will always use some kind of "bad" coins for transactions. In countries like Venezuela, they rather have USD than Bitcoin. When you don't have life necessities, you can't really worry about a Store of Value.

[ilovealtcoins]

Bitcoin is both an asset and a medium of exchange with goods.  Consider bitcoin as gold, there are a number of countries where people use gold to exchange goods.  Bitcoin is valid for exchange at the time its rate is set.  Bitcoin is a form of investment asset when someone holds Bitcoin long enough for Bitcoin to increase or decrease in value.  To say that Bitcoin is not a means of exchange is not true.

[Wysi]

Bitcoin is both an asset and a medium of exchange with goods.  Consider bitcoin as gold, there are a number of countries where people use gold to exchange goods.  Bitcoin is valid for exchange at the time its rate is set.  Bitcoin is a form of investment asset when someone holds Bitcoin long enough for Bitcoin to increase or decrease in value.  To say that Bitcoin is not a means of exchange is not true.

Yes bitcoin is asset and can be used as a mode of exchange if both the party set a common term in case of any fluctuations within certain time because what if bitcoin is priced at $8000 while transferring and it pumps or dumps while getting transferred as it will be a loss or gain to one of the part. Instead of mean of exchange I feel bitcoin is more suitable as mode of payment and investment since there are lot of other crypto which can be used for exchange with a more stability.

[Pamadar]

Bitcoin is both an asset and a medium of exchange with goods.  Consider bitcoin as gold, there are a number of countries where people use gold to exchange goods.  Bitcoin is valid for exchange at the time its rate is set.  Bitcoin is a form of investment asset when someone holds Bitcoin long enough for Bitcoin to increase or decrease in value.  To say that Bitcoin is not a means of exchange is not true.

Yes bitcoin is asset and can be used as a mode of exchange if both the party set a common term in case of any fluctuations within certain time because what if bitcoin is priced at $8000 while transferring and it pumps or dumps while getting transferred as it will be a loss or gain to one of the part. Instead of mean of exchange I feel bitcoin is more suitable as mode of payment and investment since there are lot of other crypto which can be used for exchange with a more stability.

You need to understand all the consequences in order for you learn how to maximize the use of this crypto currency. Bitcoin can be both assets and mode of payments, it's the end users own speculative assertions to what extent he will use this industry. What you know best will bring the most of of the venue of your chosen field. Keep enhancing your knowledge and follow what you think is best for you.

[albrots]

BTC dominance is far too high and I hardly doubt that an altcoin will replace BTC one day. I prefer to use altcoins, but the majority of investors still believes in Bitcoin and sells all their altcoins to get some extra BTC.

The market situation is indeed not possible to buy ALtcoin, so investors sell altcoin assets to become BTC. BTC dominance is currently still too high. But there will be a time when BTC dominance goes down and will be replaced by Altcoin. There are still many opportunities for altcoin.

[Wildwest]

If we see the increasing bitcoin perherakan bitcoin can be a media of future exchanges, in cryptocurrency nothing is impossible everything can happen, but starting from the beginning bitcoin has failed to be able to dominate the media market in a legitimate exchange, we hope there is The resurrection continues to be a trusted medium of exchange

[SabrinaBianka]

They are called medium of exchange its because not all countries here in earth will be use btc like money, I believed on bitcoin future. We will use bitcoin for our future payments and for expenses but bare in mind that not all are happy if happens.

[royalfestus]

At this time of accumulation who will be stupid to use as medium of exchange, even the whales are guiding jealously maybe after bullrun profit will go into the market but doubt the use of crypto over fiat till then. We all know it with its level of return over the years, it gives the highest return in the last 10 years compare with any asset. Lets' prioritize and maximize the asset factor for now

[Reid]

It actually can.

You can buy goods with it by now. Japan is using it also as a medium of exchange.
The real problem for now is the volatility and that is what blinds us to see the real future.

There is still a lot of years before the mining ends and we might be dead at that time. I am hoping to see it but I guess I will just pass the torch to my kids and grandkids. They should really see a new kind of exchange which is safer and private.

[hatshepsut93]

I think Gresham's law does apply to cryptocurrencies. Fiat currencies are the bad coins that people circulate. People will always use some kind of "bad" coins for transactions. In countries like Venezuela, they rather have USD than Bitcoin. When you don't have life necessities, you can't really worry about a Store of Value.

Please, explain why would it apply? Gresham's Law applies to physical coins made from different materials, how can it apply to digital currencies? Are you saying that because today people use fiat instead of Bitcoin, it's a proof that the law is working? Because that's really not the case, they use fiat over Bitcoin because it's much more convenient and less risky.

The problem with this discussion is that the law uses terms like "good" and "bad", and people assign their own values to these words, while originally it was only used in relation to value of the material the money are made of.

[dnprock]

I think Gresham's law does apply to cryptocurrencies. Fiat currencies are the bad coins that people circulate. People will always use some kind of "bad" coins for transactions. In countries like Venezuela, they rather have USD than Bitcoin. When you don't have life necessities, you can't really worry about a Store of Value.

Please, explain why would it apply? Gresham's Law applies to physical coins made from different materials, how can it apply to digital currencies? Are you saying that because today people use fiat instead of Bitcoin, it's a proof that the law is working? Because that's really not the case, they use fiat over Bitcoin because it's much more convenient and less risky.

The problem with this discussion is that the law uses terms like "good" and "bad", and people assign their own values to these words, while originally it was only used in relation to value of the material the money are made of.

> Are you saying that because today people use fiat instead of Bitcoin, it's a proof that the law is working?

Yes. People use fiat because they know that its supply inflates while Bitcoin supply eventually stops.

In Gresham's law, bad money drives out good money. If authority decreed silver coins and copper coins have the same value, people would keep silver coins and use copper coins. They keep to good money and dispose the bad money. So the medium of exchange currency would be the copper coins. It's easy to interpret Gresham's law for metal coins because we can compare them like apple-apple. For other types of currencies, we need a different interpretation.

I think of Gresham's law as less desirable money drives out more desirable money. The law does not imply good money is useless, it's the other way. Good money doesn't circulate because they are more desirable. Bitcoin's design of limited supply makes it desirable money. Its use case is Store of Value. People are hodling bitcoins. They're exchanging their fiat currencies for bitcoins. Fiat is less desirable.

[Faxmate]

This argument could be valid in future if Bitcoin failed to gain market share and people just decided to use it for store of value, another thing to look at is the lighting network, the success of lighting network is going to determine if BTC is going to be use for medium of exchange because the  transaction fees that people complained about that is high is going to be reduced significantly

Lightning network just solves one problem though (or two, if we count fees + speed of transaction). It doesn't help much with volatility however. Who wants to buy a TV for 1K today, when a month from now that same amount of BTC could be worth 2-5K? Nobody will use BTC as a medium of exchange... they would hold it for speculation.

An exception could be in 3rd world countries where their own fiat fluctuates more than BTC does. I suppose it could catch on as a medium of exchange there with the LN. But other cryptos are probably better suited to that task than BTC is, at least currently.

In my opinion, it takes a long time for Bitcoin to become a medium of exchange because of many factors that are obstacles. Until now, not everyone understands what bitcoin is and how it functions or they know about cryptocurrency. Maybe Bitcoin will become more practical if used as a digital asset, as an alternative investment or safe haven other than gold

right now its can be used to buy stuff online. its a medium of exchange. right now one way to buy altcoins like ETH is to have BTC first. cryptocurrencies are medium of exchange it functions like fiat. its even in the forex market now just like a real fiat. you may not spend it but some people do. we keep trading it like currencies buying USDT with BTC. there is no good and bad money here what we have are bloodmoney. 

Yep, the OP is talking shit. I just bought some games on steam with a gift card I bought with crypto. I just ordered some seeds for my garden using eth. I bought some spray paint for my crafting with bitcoin. Whats this OP on about? Does the OP even come to reply back? Nope....

This argument could be valid in future if Bitcoin failed to gain market share and people just decided to use it for store of value, another thing to look at is the lighting network, the success of lighting network is going to determine if BTC is going to be use for medium of exchange because the  transaction fees that people complained about that is high is going to be reduced significantly

Lightning network just solves one problem though (or two, if we count fees + speed of transaction). It doesn't help much with volatility however. Who wants to buy a TV for 1K today, when a month from now that same amount of BTC could be worth 2-5K? Nobody will use BTC as a medium of exchange... they would hold it for speculation.

An exception could be in 3rd world countries where their own fiat fluctuates more than BTC does. I suppose it could catch on as a medium of exchange there with the LN. But other cryptos are probably better suited to that task than BTC is, at least currently.

Another person talking shit. I spend bitcoin all the time. Stop lying and spreading misinformation. Which third world countries are you talking about that have money that fluctuates like that?
You say you won't spend bitcoin because it will be worth more in the future? Then convert all your fiat into bitcoin because using fiat to buy something is the same as buying bitcoin with the fiat beforehand the only exception is that you are using a superior payment method instead of crappy fiat.

At present, not a lot of companies or places offer payments in bitcoin or even any other crypto coin. There are only few of them that accept bitcoin. Gambling sites also have this feature but that day is still a bit away when digital coins will go mainstream. At present, these are best to be used as investments.  Fiat holds its own value. It is serving as the medium of exchange but things will evolve with time.

[huige007]

How about eth and xrp? Somehow thesee two are primary contender for the btc. Well the marketcap seems to be not marching towards btc but when it comes to different aspect I think technically these two are way better than btc. I'm not saying they can overwhelm btc price that much but the tech itself are proven useful. Especially eth network.

This is seriously really strange thread, xrp better then btc? In what way? They can close xrp if they want, it has nothing on bitcoin. Bitcoin doesn't need permissions and it can't be shut down.

I hold the same opinion as you in this regard. Ripple is not better than bitcoin in anyway. Indeed it is the altcoin that has the highest buying rate among altcoins but that does not make it the number one digital currencies. Let us look at the market capital of both coins as this factor counts the most in showing progress and worth of something. Bitcoin is far above than that of ripple. It is a centralized coin too.