Cryptocurrency Adoption: A Breakthrough?

[fiulpro]

See what I see is :

If I use my bitcoins for everyday payment and such then we won't be able to hold it for long term or even trade , as for me the cryptocurrencies like Bitcoins are most important as a store of value as other things perse.

At the same time things like fruits and vegetables , I prefer taking from the small farmers which actually does 2 things :
-If get non GMO products of better quality
-I am supporting their small work
Therefore I do believe that , I cannot expect them to use cryptocurrencies or even have visa debit cards. Therefore most likely I would encash my bitcoins when the price is right and then use.

BUT

If someone is buying things internationally , across the border I believe it would be extremely helpful since you won't have to pay much fee.

At the same time if my university started accepting payment in BTC then I would literally save like 100$ per semester. It's not good paying with international cards and even in cash... But BTC would be an amazing option .

[carter34]

Apart form that, I agree with what others have said. Fiat is not dead.

Cash is still king.

I believe fiat is going nowhere even with bitcoin around. There are many advantages to the use of fiat. I don't think it will totally give way for bitcoin, they can keep playing their roles but not that fiat can't stand the pressure.

[deisik]

Fiat losing its value for sure but it is not crumbling just yet. When you ask yourself what you could have bought for 1000 dollars 25 years ago and what you can buy today with 1000 dollars today you are giving yourself answer of one of the questions, which is not bad

We don't actually need any fiat to crumble or implode entirely

It wouldn't be good for crypto if the entire global financial system collapsed. For cryptocurrency adoption as a means of payment, all we need is fiat depreciating so strong that it would make crypto a viable payment option (through fiat as a gateway), as well as actual devices to conduct such payments (like the Binance card)

Massive inflation would then force people to look for storing their wealth in something other than fiat (this is a good idea anyway). Couple that with a smooth and frictionless ability to spend the alternative store of value, and you will see the impact that the Binance effort could have under these circumstances (if it takes off for real)

[Dragonfund]

How can bitcoin solve all the problem of the country?

Bitcoin isn't just a store of value but it bridge the gate between government and the ordinary people.
Last two weeks, there was a peaceful protest that was going on in Nigeria against police brutality and reform of some components of police force especially the popularly FSARS known as Federal Anti Robbery squad with their inhuman nature of extorting the youth because you look fresh, young with cash. During the protest, the able ones were making donation for food, money to hire lawyers incase of illegal arrest of peaceful protesters, the single account was frozen not later than 5 hours after Flucterwave detected they received $5k in just hours. Donations were later received with Bitcoin which sustain the protest for two good weeks

This is one advantage of holding Bitcoin, no central authority, no middle man.
Bitcoin also helps banks the unbanked countries to transfer value between people and also provide jobs for unemployed ones. P2p transactions this year alone in Africa is at peak, I believe the future is bright for bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

[error08]

Cryptocurrency adoption requires several factors like low volatility, fast TX times, low TX fees etc to optimally rise over time

High volatility is an advantage. All other things become irrelevant with a good crypto payment card

For cryptocurrency, high volatility maybe an advantage, but not for a medium of exchange which used on a daily basis.
Don't you think we need a stable coin to replace fiat money? something that has been proven possessed stable value and unaffected by inflation for centuries is gold.
A long time ago, the main idea for printing paper money was backed by gold, but then the authority abolish that rule, and here we are with inflation.

The government held the $35 per ounce price until August 15, 1971, when President Richard Nixon announced that the United States would no longer convert dollars to gold at a fixed value, thus completely abandoning the gold standard. source

[deisik]

Cryptocurrency adoption requires several factors like low volatility, fast TX times, low TX fees etc to optimally rise over time

High volatility is an advantage. All other things become irrelevant with a good crypto payment card

For cryptocurrency, high volatility maybe an advantage, but not for a medium of exchange which used on a daily basis

That's the whole point which many people seem to miss or misunderstand

If crypto is used alongside fiat as a means of payment, its volatility becomes an absolute advantage specifically in this context. It is a seeming paradox, but it resolves easily if we keep in mind and account for two things. First, volatility, per definition, is a two-way street, up and down all the time. Fiat, on the other hand, is more like a one-way street. It can only depreciate and lose value in absolute terms with time, i.e. prices in any given fiat currency are only rising on a long enough timeframe. This is second

[OROBTC]

Cryptocurrency adoption requires several factors like low volatility, fast TX times, low TX fees etc to optimally rise over time

High volatility is an advantage. All other things become irrelevant with a good crypto payment card

For cryptocurrency, high volatility maybe an advantage, but not for a medium of exchange which used on a daily basis

That's the whole point which many people seem to miss or misunderstand

If crypto is used alongside fiat as a means of payment, its volatility becomes an absolute advantage specifically in this context. It is a seeming paradox, but it resolves easily if we keep in mind and account for two things. First, volatility, per definition, is a two-way street, up and down all the time. Fiat, on the other hand, is more like a one-way street. It can only depreciate and lose value in absolute terms with time, i.e. prices in any given fiat currency are only rising on a long enough timeframe. This is second

Yes, Bitcoin volatility is a good thing.  It is a reasonable assumption (no guarantees!) that BTC will go up in price over time, so those with any extra money ought to have a stake.

As a large US investor (I don't remember who) is doing, he puts some of his own money into BTC because "it's the fastest horse in the race".

If you speculate or invest, consider betting on the fastest horse...  And I mean BTC, a legitimate solid horse.

*   *   *

Here in the US there are three interesting developments I have been following that are making Bitcoin more user-friendly and available:

1)  a company called LibertyX (libertyx.com) now has a service where you can buy BTC for cash it CVS and 7-Eleven stores for as low as 1.7% or so over BTC "Spot" price.  I myself have used this service a few times, works great, have to do KYC though.

2)  I am waiting on a BitPay Debit Card.  This would allow you to fund it with BTC, they credit you with cash, then you can use it like any other MasterCard, even to take out cash from ATMs.  This is a big step.  This allows an easy way to "cash-out" of Bitcoin should you choose.

3)  PayPal has now offered an imperfect means of getting into BTC.  Imperfect, but getting a lot of attention here.

"Momentum is building."

[OROBTC]

...

That US investor I mentioned above is Paul Tudor Jones making those comments from back in May 2020.  (BTC was almost to $10,000 then)

Various references (Bloomberg, CNBC, others), Google those articles/videos for more info, but Jones is a seriously rich and smart guy (a big-time hedge fund manager), he has money on "the fastest horse".

[Emitdama]

How will the Binance card work? Because the BitPay card is different, you will have to be loading your card before you make use of it (that's how it works if I can remember, unless there have been recent changes).

So, it's the Binance card going to be working the same; users will buy Bitcoin and when they want to use the card for shopping or withdrawal on ATMs, they will first of all convert to USD and load the card? If that's it, then it's just going to be making things easy for traders. There isn't much difference, BitPay has been around for a long time, and that's the same with Coinbase and some other ones that are offering MasterCard and Visa to users.

[deisik]

So, it's the Binance card going to be working the same; users will buy Bitcoin and when they want to use the card for shopping or withdrawal on ATMs, they will first of all convert to USD and load the card? If that's it, then it's just going to be making things easy for traders. There isn't much difference, BitPay has been around for a long time, and that's the same with Coinbase and some other ones that are offering MasterCard and Visa to users

The Binance card is a debit card

It is linked to your exchange account, more specifically, a card account, where you can move funds from your other accounts on the exchange. In that fashion, you don't need to manually convert your coins to fiat before using the card (as far as I got it). The conversion is processed automatically when you use the card (buying something or cashing out), though I don't know at which rates. But they should be close to market anyway because Binance is the largest exchange out there and can easily operate as a crypto-to-fiat gateway. It seems to me that you will be able to convert your cryptos yourself as well and use fiat as the card reserve

[jaberwock]

The trick about bitcoin and why it is having such a big problem is the simple reason that even the "users" of bitcoin do not want to sell it for anything under what they bought from, they should be users and use it but they instead become holders which means they want more fiat.

If you are looking at bitcoin as fiat thing and that is all you care about, how could bitcoin go up? You need to work for it, earn it and when you got it you have to find other people who accept it and earn it and you should be spending it there, just like how we use fiat currency in real life.

But people act like its gold, they want to buy it and put it in a safe (digital vault maybe) and hold it. It means adoption can't go up, its not possible for adoption to increase while nobody spends it.

[deisik]

The trick about bitcoin and why it is having such a big problem is the simple reason that even the "users" of bitcoin do not want to sell it for anything under what they bought from, they should be users and use it but they instead become holders which means they want more fiat

Bitcoin is not the only pebble on the beach, not the only fish in the sea. I emphasize that point in the article

2)  I am waiting on a BitPay Debit Card.  This would allow you to fund it with BTC, they credit you with cash, then you can use it like any other MasterCard, even to take out cash from ATMs.  This is a big step.  This allows an easy way to "cash-out" of Bitcoin should you choose

As above, it's not so much about Bitcoin as other coins. And while Bitcoin can be considered an island of stability in the volatility-torn world of crypto (to a degree), you don't really waste your store of value on everyday needs. It means that the vast majority of people will be spending anything crypto-related but Bitcoin. And that makes such payment cards, the ones which can be linked to a bunch of cryptocurrencies apart from Bitcoin, even more interesting as with them you can build sophisticated strategies to turn the tables in your favor and take advantage of fiat currency inflation

I would call that the inflation tax in reverse. Kind of financial aikido

[pixie85]

I think their card is going to make btc payments easier and bring more users to crypto because they will finally be able to spend from the same exchange account they uused to buy and trade.

The most obvious cons of this method are more centralization and less security. You'll have all your coins on a centralized account used for trading/holding/spending. There were many card hacks where people were able to withdraw from your card by walking next to you or fitting scanners in ATMs. If they steal fiat money a bank can trace it but with BTC card users will be in greater danger.

It won't weaken fiat money. Binance is just a single company and even with paypal the number of users of those BTC payments will be small. How much of the market will they able to take from fiat? 0.01% globally? It would be great if it was even this much.

[deisik]

The most obvious cons of this method are more centralization and less security. You'll have all your coins on a centralized account used for trading/holding/spending. There were many card hacks where people were able to withdraw from your card by walking next to you or fitting scanners in ATMs. If they steal fiat money a bank can trace it but with BTC card users will be in greater danger

I think the dangers and fears of using a cryptocurrency payment card are greatly exaggerated

I don't know for certain (as I don't have such a card yet), but it is safe to assume that you will be able to set limits on how much you can spend daily. So even if the hackers scan your card, they won't be able to steal all your coins from the exchange. Moreover, the card account is a separate account on Binance, while you can move your coins freely between your accounts. So just top up your card account at a bare minimum and you are good to go

It won't weaken fiat money. Binance is just a single company and even with paypal the number of users of those BTC payments will be small. How much of the market will they able to take from fiat? 0.01% globally? It would be great if it was even this much

You are looking at it from the wrong angle. It is not about crypto weakening fiat. Rather, it is about fiat strengthening crypto through the failure of its own, the process which we now have a chance to witness

[OROBTC]

...

Re "A Breakthrough", it just occurred to me that BTC price spikes (like we apparently have now: $13,790 as I write) will get attention and FOMO.  Each incremental advance in BTC adoption and/or price spikes will get attention and more users.

My interest in a debit card is to allow me to incrementally CA$H-OUT of Bitcoin during price spikes.  In 2017 I was able to do this by buying gold, but there is still not a convenient way to cash-out for, well, cash.

Also, we travel (did until COVID anyway), having a MasterCard funded with BTC might come in very handy.  I could get $500 out of the ATM whether in Peru or in Europe...

Over the years I have typically bought BTC more-or-less every month or so.  The only exceptions were when I sold (just some) in late 2017 and a small amount in early 2018.

Bitcoin is still a "risk asset" as far as I am concerned.  Risky, but with a likely (?) great future.  

I have never been able to predict the future, so when I am handed a gift (like a big-time BTC price spike), I take the it...

[deisik]

My interest in a debit card is to allow me to incrementally CA$H-OUT of Bitcoin during price spikes.  In 2017 I was able to do this by buying gold, but there is still not a convenient way to cash-out for, well, cash.

You are on the right track

Though not still there. You should sell not just the amount you need for your everyday expenses, but a somewhat bigger portion of your stash so as to be able to buy back at pullbacks. When you eventually get the hang of it, you could live entirely off the volatility in the cryptocurrency of your choice (and while we are at it, Litecoin seems to be the best choice). Now add strong fiat inflation to the mix, and you will see how you can use it as a leverage or multiplier

[emmybd]

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[CarnagexD]

Thing here is, if we force bitcoin adoption, it will ultimately whittle down the coins price because of the endless cash-in and cash-out that the people will do once the coin becomes adopted by the public. This means bad news for the people who are here to invest on bitcoin, especially those who have already spent thousands of dollars and are expecting a gain from it.

[deisik]

Thing here is, if we force bitcoin adoption, it will ultimately whittle down the coins price because of the endless cash-in and cash-out that the people will do once the coin becomes adopted by the public

I don't think so

Moreover, I can't even fathom your logic behind this assumption. Bitcoin mass adoption as a means of payment would naturally increase the demand for Bitcoin, and given that there are only so many bitcoins in existence (read, supply cannot rise), it will necessarily bring about higher prices. In a nutshell, you can't get around the law of supply and demand, which is going to hold in this case. With that said, it is still unlikely that people are going to use Bitcoin specifically as a medium of exchange en masse

[Eternad]

Thing here is, if we force bitcoin adoption, it will ultimately whittle down the coins price because of the endless cash-in and cash-out that the people will do once the coin becomes adopted by the public. This means bad news for the people who are here to invest on bitcoin, especially those who have already spent thousands of dollars and are expecting a gain from it.

Bitcoin is not really made for investment purposes its for decentralisation of transaction payments and to have a advance way of transferring money form one to another. But since it's still on it's early stage, early adootors will have the benefit of to be able to make it as a investment that can bemake gains whenever adoption happens.