Bitcoin is not suitable as a currency, it's a store of value

[coolcoinz]

For me, i do not think bitcoin can replace fiat totally, because when their are larger transactions to be processed, it takes hours or even a day, except you have to pay Higher fees to process your transaction.

It never takes hours or a day for me. It used to be like that in 2017/18 when the network was spammed by small transactions to make it look like BCH is the better coin because it's faster.
Most BTC transactions these days are included in the first or second block, which means that  you will have to try hard not to get a confirmation in 20 minutes.
If instant transactions are a must for your business you can use a payment processor like most online stores do.

[blckhawk]

I want to ask a question, if there is a Bitcoin ATM card, and you want to use it to pay bills such as an hotel booking, will the payment reflect instantly while the atm machine or Miners still has to process the transaction?

As far as I know there's no Bitcoin ATM card yet but if it will have soon then that will be probably good. However, I don't think Bitcoin need this kind or card since mostly transaction held online.

For me, i do not think bitcoin can replace fiat totally, because when their are larger transactions to be processed, it takes hours or even a day, except you have to pay Higher fees to process your transaction.

Just like you pal, I don't crypto especially Bitcoin could replace fiat due to the fact that most of stores and other transaction is not ready yet for this kind of monetary system, so basically we aren't not fully ready yet.

One thing, crypto varies on how we will use it whether as a currency or a store value just like gold. Actually, I even once used some of my coins to buy something, or spend it into something but I do consider it as a store value. For me it is a currency and a store value at the same time.

[Latviand]

I want to ask a question, if there is a Bitcoin ATM card, and you want to use it to pay bills such as an hotel booking, will the payment reflect instantly while the atm machine or Miners still has to process the transaction?

Bitcoin ATM isn't necessary right now since we can create a transaction thru digital phones only or other digital things.

I have used my Bitcoin to buy things online and it went ok. I also used Bitcoin in other things (converting it into Fiat and buying other things). Regarding the Bitcoin ATM and the current state of Bitcoin right now, we know that the transaction speed of Bitcoin is not as fast as other ways of payment but still there are some developers who are developing a solution into it and LN is one of them.

For me, i do not think bitcoin can replace fiat totally, because when their are larger transactions to be processed, it takes hours or even a day, except you have to pay Higher fees to process your transaction.

I don't think that too but I think that Bitcoin and crypto in general will be an "ALTERNATIVE" mode of payment aside from the fiat currency that we are using everyday. If Lightning Network will be use by many people then more and more establishments will accept Bitcoin in my opinion.

Based on my observation about the ability of the bitcoin when it comes to a currency, it is not enough compared to the proven and trusted fiat currency. I'm not against bitcoin, I'm just stating the fact that it lacks some features compared to fiat. It will never replace fiat because a digital currency is only for the digital world not for an actual thing. Most of the people really know the truth and accept the reality about bitcoin that it is only for a store of value. Its volatility in the market is the proof and the reason why it is not effective as a material in many transactions. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages, but the most reliable is the one that is accustomed to the community and comfortable to use. Bitcoin needs to undergo a lot of process before having a lot of transactions and that's what make it hassle to use.

[elenag742]

I purchased various merchandise with Bitcoin and it generally worked easily, which carries me to the determination that Bitcoin may be a cash AND a store of serious worth. Esp. second layer arrangements like Lightning brought moment affirmations. Bitcoin ATM cards aren't expected to form installments.

[elenag1442]

One thing that OP must comprehend is that it had been Satoshi's vision to make Bitcoin as a computerized cash to be utilized as an installment technique in our every day lives yet its arranging at present doesn't make it reasonable to be received by over 7Billion individuals during this world. that may unquestionably stick the system yet with the occasion of Lightning arrangements, we plan to find out affirmations made as quick as could be expected under the circumstances. So now bitcoin suits more as an advantage than a money on the grounds that solitary several individuals really use it to frame buys.

[leyton11]

I bought a lot of different goods with Bitcoin and it always worked smoothly, which brings me to the conclusion that Bitcoin is a currency AND a store of value. Esp. 2nd layer solutions like Lightning brought instant confirmations. Bitcoin ATM cards are not needed to make payments.

Yes, my friends and I have also bought computer components with bitcoin. We even lend in bitcoin and receive high interest from it. but I think it only works for small numbers of people. especially for traders or holders like us. but letting the whole world use bitcoin doesn't. Bitcoin is originally a coin that can be heavily manipulated and it is not good to hold it in our daily wallet. Think about it, you bring your wallet with 1 bitcoin for $ 3000 to buy a motorbike. But when you go to the store, the price of bitcoin is only $ 2k6 and you absolutely can not buy a motorbike anymore. Therefore, volatility like bitcoin should not be a means of payment. It is very inconvenient.

[buwaytress]

I keep hearing people tell me this, usually when they're trying to shill their own non-usable, no-community, no-merchant-work, no-use-case altcoin.

I use Bitcoin at least once a week as currency. I'd use a lot more if I earned a lot more. Covid. Lockdown. Paycut. You get the picture.

Yes, I agree it's a store of value as well, but it's uniquely used to pay for shit all over the world every day. Arnhem the Bitcoin city gets daily transactions for years (now in lightning too!) because there is a merchant network there. OK, lockdown now so a trickle only but still!

[ghost424]

At first maybe yes, Bitcoin is a store of value but as time passes by, the developers of the Cryptocurrency Industry creates a lot of ways on how to utilize Bitcoin to the fullest. Nowadays we can see that Bitcoin is not just used as a store of value but it is used for different transactions that act as a currency which is like a money. That is why many developers are supporting Bitcoin because they know that its capabilities are not yet fully used.

[bitfolio_dot_io]

The reason it acts like a store of value is because it is currency that *is not backed* by any sovereign state. So there are a lot more forces trying to figure out what 1BTC is worth. Even normal currency is traded and has price fluctuations, but because the approximate value of a dollar (or a yen or a ruble etc) is decided by the country that issues it and all its users, the bounds for what one could be worth on a given day fluctuate much less.

If you want to try taking advantage of these big moves, I'd encourage you to try paper trading through BitFolio. Use the passkey "BitcointalkFriends" (no quotes) to access the beta version 

[Janation]

You might this because of the decentralization, right?

In terms of fees, yeah are those times that we are sending huge amounts but compare it when banks or other third parties do it. Lightning network make it great so that we could use Bitcoin in a lot of ways including fast payments. It is under those two, a store of value and a currency.

[Debonaire217]

You might this because of the decentralization, right?

In terms of fees, yeah are those times that we are sending huge amounts but compare it when banks or other third parties do it. Lightning network make it great so that we could use Bitcoin in a lot of ways including fast payments. It is under those two, a store of value and a currency.

But there are ways to lower the transaction fees in Bitcoin, one thing I did is to create a Segwit wallet, because I also noticed that the Legacy wallet way back before produces significantly more fees, the native segwit BECH32 is quite better though, there are some compatibility issues, I think for most of us considering this decision will be better.

With that regard, it opens up the opportunity for bitcoin to be used for daily transactions because of lower fees. Though, it really depends upon a person on how he/she will manage his/her funds, whether to use bitcoin for investment or for daily uses.

[Rkaus]

Right.. Although bitcoin meets the criteria as a medium of exchange, it fails as a store of value and a unit of account. Unlike fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar, bitcoin has proven to be too volatile to make it a reliable vehicle in which to store value over long periods of time.

[qiwoman2]

Well I don't earn any FIAT anymore, not earned fiat since 2015, so for me BTC IS also money as well as a store of value. I store what I don't need to live on but use as currency what I need to use to eat, pay my bills and my mortgage. So it all depends on where you are at. If you are wealthy and can afford to keep all your BTC aside to grow and become even more wealthy, then yes, it's ONLY a store of value as a hedge against FIAT and other assets. For people like me who only earn BTC and altcoins, then we need to use it also for day to day living expenses as well as store some for the future.

[pawanjain]

To be honest, in my opinion, bitcoin can never replace fiat because there is a 'necessity' for physical cash to be present as an alternative mode of payment.
We can't completely rely on digital payments since there can occur rare incidents such as internet outage due to flood, earthquake, tornado in some areas due to which people will have to rely on physical cash and fiat is surely one of the best physical mode of payments as of date.
Also, pandemics such as Covid-19 shows that on such scenarios it is always best to hold some physical cash to buy household things quickly.

Talking about the digital mode of payments, bitcoin can be a really good method for large payments and international transfers since those are the ones which generally takes time and charges. Bitcoin can strive to solve this problem.

[FlashJohnathan2203]

Today, i was discussing with my friend about bitcoin, and we argued that the world is trying to make bitcoin look like a currency, replacing fiat majorly and used as payment everywhere.

I want to ask a question, if there is a Bitcoin ATM card, and you want to use it to pay bills such as an hotel booking, will the payment reflect instantly while the atm machine or Miners still has to process the transaction?

Also, let’s say in the aspect of payment for services, would you have to wait for minutes? Or hours if there are large transactions to be processed, we are talking of when adoption eventually takes place in the world.
Remember what happened to binance yesterday when India lifted the ban on cryptocurrency, even binance exchange had to do a quick maintenance.

For me, i do not think bitcoin can replace fiat totally, because when their are larger transactions to be processed, it takes hours or even a day, except you have to pay Higher fees to process your transaction.

I will love several suggestions below, to further enlighten and brighten my knowledge.

The thing is that if Bitcoin doesn't serve the purpose of paying things, sooner or later it will vanish. The belive to be able to use Bitcoin to pay things in the future is one of the core thought of everyone who owns Bitcoin, without it, people will start to ask themselves questions like 'why the f am I holding a things that don't have a value, even gold can be used to traded for things'. Bitcoin is still a new thing in the world so that it needs to have something familiar with a daily basis so that there can be new ones taking steps into it.

[slackovic]

To be honest, in my opinion, bitcoin can never replace fiat because there is a 'necessity' for physical cash to be present as an alternative mode of payment.
We can't completely rely on digital payments since there can occur rare incidents such as internet outage due to flood, earthquake, tornado in some areas due to which people will have to rely on physical cash and fiat is surely one of the best physical mode of payments as of date.
Also, pandemics such as Covid-19 shows that on such scenarios it is always best to hold some physical cash to buy household things quickly.

Talking about the digital mode of payments, bitcoin can be a really good method for large payments and international transfers since those are the ones which generally takes time and charges. Bitcoin can strive to solve this problem.

While I agree that Bitcoin will never replace fiat, I don't agree with your reason. You don't know what future will bring us. I'm actually pretty sure that some crypto currency will at some point replace fiat. Occasional Internet outages won't be a problem just like occasional power outages wasn't a problem for the adoption of the electricity. Fiat will be replaced once it will be more convenient to use crypto as a payment than fiat. Now it's still to early because crypto is relatively new and most people know about it because of the last bull run.

As for Bitcoin replacing fiat, I'm pretty convinced it will never happen. Bitcoin is closer to being a store of value than to being a replacement for fiat. I know... Lightning network, SegWit... But the fact is that Bitcoin network is still just too slow for it to be a fiat replacement.

[XCANA]

Let's say is both. Bitcoin is a store of value which we'll know from the upset and also, it serve as a currency because we'll buy things online with the use of thus coin. Especially digital goods are been bought through different platforms with the help of Bitcoin. Most of my transactions online are be carried out through Bitcoin purchase. So, if bitcoin can be use to make a purchase then, it can be said to be a currency. So, bitcoin is both a store of value and a currency.

[Janation]

You might this because of the decentralization, right?

In terms of fees, yeah are those times that we are sending huge amounts but compare it when banks or other third parties do it. Lightning network make it great so that we could use Bitcoin in a lot of ways including fast payments. It is under those two, a store of value and a currency.

But there are ways to lower the transaction fees in Bitcoin, one thing I did is to create a Segwit wallet, because I also noticed that the Legacy wallet way back before produces significantly more fees, the native segwit BECH32 is quite better though, there are some compatibility issues, I think for most of us considering this decision will be better.

With that regard, it opens up the opportunity for bitcoin to be used for daily transactions because of lower fees. Though, it really depends upon a person on how he/she will manage his/her funds, whether to use bitcoin for investment or for daily uses.

That is nice. Thanks for that.

With your reply, I can say that the point of view of people that says Bitcoin is not suitable as a currency doesn't know how to fully use other ways like what you just told me. Some people might not really understand what you are saying, the technicality of how they will use Bitcoin, I think that is the problem to people stated in one of the threads I've read here.

[jostorres]

That’s why it’s very important that you make use of the big exchanges , because those ones are always secure and even if things goes wrong you are covered.

Before you start making use of any exchanges you should learn about them and see the level of security they can offer to their users. Just like Coinbase, if you check their website it’s clearly written that it is secure and also explained how their website can be secure by letting you know they store most of their assets offline, and they have an insurance covering every assets on their platform. Those are things you should always take note of.

[BALIK]

I have to say that I don't completely disagree with you in that BTC is more suitable for value storing rather than a token for currency. The currency option gets torn apart by the simple fact of market volatility, as well as regulatory inhibitions that major institutions raise against the crypto advancing technology.

As for BTC being a store for value is more reasonable at least in my bandwidth in my opinion due to reasons of limited supply and expensive production cost - this then highly resembles gold, and once you see it that way you get to understand the store of value option that BTC holds.

Also, BTC is by far the best developed blockchain and thus other coins are far more suitable as currency. At least these are some of my view points but I'd encourage further discussion on the topic.