How can we make BTC mainstream?

[Nathonas]

Don't worry, more Cyprus-like bail-in events coming to a bank near you in the next few months/years will ensure Bitcoin will become more expensive and hence will gain in popularity.

Hmm excellent point. I've actually completely forgotten that this is probably the biggest booster for Bitcoin: not good developments in the Bitcoin world, but bad developments in the fiat world.

[xb0x]

One & only thing that will help is to educate people about it & let them know the profit of having a decentralized money system not only cons. They need to get aware with pros.

Take profit as main point - most of the person will get attracted toward this one word.

[jubalix]

being wealth and having good investments is main stream, to be wealth you don't have to b mainstream with BTC, just hit the right market, eg backbone currency.....

retail/mainstream is worth peanuts

[Ruthful]

One thing that bitcoin can do that the dollar definitely cannot is to provide a hedge against the loss of value of the dollar.

That's also an answer to this thread.  Bitcoin seems to be gaining in general acceptance, slowly but gaining.  As it does, it will be natural to see it as a hedge or an alternative to keeping all of your savings in dollars.

If our government keeps printing quantitative easy money as the Weimar Republic printed physical currency, the result will be the same and the dollar will fall.  But the bitcoin probably will not be affected nearly as much.  So it's a hedge against the inevitable.

That's the problem .

Most of my transaction is not in USD,it's in my local currency(which is progressively hedging quite well against the USD).I understand that this forum is pretty much US-centric but lets not forget that mass adoption doesn't just mean the USA , the rest of the world population needs to considered as well.

[dubouis]

Firstly we should make people informed about it by blogs and social networks

[ndonnard]

We should make people think that Bitcoin is a convenient and reliable currency

[blatchcorn]

The first starting point is to simply stop the bad press and ensure journalists accurately report on Bitcoin.

[DooMAD]

I think the real problem is that most people are lazy and have an incredibly short attention span.  I've noticed the same thing while at work trying to sell people insurance products.  If it can't be explained fully in a single sentence soundbite, they won't bother absorbing any information you give them.  I've tried talking about Bitcoin on forums and social networking sites, trying to keep it as simple and easy to understand as I can, but people just sort of glaze over like I'm talking about brain surgery or something.  They just think "if I don't understand it, I probably don't need it" and move on.  If it takes any effort whatsoever to learn about something, they just won't bother. 

[the_poet]

Discounts! A shop or business of any kind (either online or offline) can absolutely get people to adopt Bitcoin with discounts for those who pay in BTC. For example: "Item X: $Y or -10% if you pay in Bitcoin"

[WhatTheGox]

How can we make BTC mainstream?

Making it actually usable for any idiot.

Right now you need to be somewhat of an expert to buy/store/use bitcoin.  Mainstream people are cant be bothered with the hassle.

[btcxyzzz]

Bitcoin will make itself mainstream because it is a superior currency. It doesn't need any marketing campaign.

While it is very good currency, there are many competitors and I dare to say nothing much will happen without good marketing. My experience tells me that good product is not enough.

[Beliathon]

Bitcoin will make itself mainstream because it is a superior currency. It doesn't need any marketing campaign.

While it is very good currency, there are many competitors and I dare to say nothing much will happen without good marketing. My experience tells me that good product is not enough.

The internet didn't have any marketing to speak of.

Technologies with real utility, real practicality, real value, don't need "marketing".

Marketing is an industry that was invented to sell people shit they don't need or want. It's psychological warfare.

[ryanmnercer]

One thing that bitcoin can do that the dollar definitely cannot is to provide a hedge against the loss of value of the dollar.

Except when it drops 110$ in a week (and is still dropping)

[KenJackson]

... provide a hedge against the loss of value of the dollar.

Except when it drops 110$ in a week (and is still dropping)

Only day-traders consider the daily and weekly value.

Currencies and commodities are inherently volatile.  And bitcoin is more volatile than most as financial people try to decide if it's a flash in the pan that'll be gone tomorrow or the thoroughly innovative breakthrough that it's proponents say it is.

[Nathonas]

Bitcoin will make itself mainstream because it is a superior currency. It doesn't need any marketing campaign.

While it is very good currency, there are many competitors and I dare to say nothing much will happen without good marketing. My experience tells me that good product is not enough.

The internet didn't have any marketing to speak of.

Technologies with real utility, real practicality, real value, don't need "marketing".

Marketing is an industry that was invented to sell people shit they don't need or want. It's psychological warfare.

The competitors don't have the infrastructure though. And that is what it really comes down to. That is why for Bitcoin to be "abandoned" by everyone there would have to be a catastrophic failure of some kind. The community and numerous businesses / organizations have invested too much into Bitcoin infrastructure to just throw it all away. A lesser coin would've died a hundred times over.

[removebeforeflight]

Grassroots adoption. Consider it your duty to purchase and transfer BTC regularly and persuade your friends to do likewise.

[apc01]

I have been around from the beginning of the Internet 25 years ago and founded the first fully national ISP. People laughed at the Internet saying it was for geeks and nerds and no "real" person would use it.

Bitcoin is in the same place now - emerging to mainstream acceptance.

One volatility falls  - which it is doing - the exchange rate stable and more merchants accept it, Bitcoin will take off like the Internet did.

[Cactusizer]

Well first off bitcoin would need to stabilise. I would say that a huge company like Walmart start accepting it. Or a big company accepts bitcoin but its 10% less off the normal price so that many people would buy bitcoin and the miners could sell. This may drop the earnings of the company 10% but it really matters how much they care about bitcoin.

[Nobitcoin]

How about getting all the major supermarkets to accept bitcoin.... Then the banks will have to listen since no one will be using cash and also need more bitcoin credit cards in order to pay for the shopping.

[MrPiggles]

How about getting all the major supermarkets to accept bitcoin.... Then the banks will have to listen since no one will be using cash and also need more bitcoin credit cards in order to pay for the shopping.

And how do you propose we do this