Bitcoins and other cryptos will never become mainstream before...

[pooya87]

Bitcoins and other cryptos will never become mainstream before... people can buy water bottles with them.

There are two things wrong here and people only responded to one of them so far.
The obvious one that when we talk about adoption we aren't talking about a situation when you can buy anything anywhere at any time. That would be more like replacing fiat which is not the goal.

The other one that nobody addressed is that altcoins will never become mainstream or even be used as long as their purpose is to be pumped and dumped. For years the altcoin creators only made new projects to make money themselves, hence the premines and ICOs and PoS and so on. Until that changes, we won't see "other cryptos" ever be used for anything meaningful.

[DubemIfedigbo001]

Bitcoin acceptability this year was greater than 2022 and I can assure you it will be better in 2024.
Adoption of Bitcoin is fast growing as a friend even bought groceries with it in Netherlands and got balance back in Bitcoin, this is just a matter of time though it has a long way to go in competing with Fiat

How much groceries did your friend  buy that he opted to pay with bitcoin in this era of high transaction fees?. Did he buy and  paid double because I believe the transaction fees of that purchase he made may even be above the purchase or seemingly equal to it,
Secondly, how long did he have to wait before his transactions was confirmed before leaving the grocery store or was he allowed to go and the store owner notify him upon receipt?.
Thirdly, is there a way around that time  and fees factors of  the transactions that I don't know about that he's fully aware of, please  @Manny@11111 I'm really curious and  will appreciate your kind responses. Thanks

[EarnOnVictor]

-snip-
What are your takes about that sentiment?

Well, Bitcoin is an asset, but not just an asset, it's an asset that has reached the level of acceptability and high liquidity that no other asset has ever achieved in a very short space. We can say the same of Ethereum at the same time, and a few lots of them. But I would like to limit the scope of crypto right now to Bitcoin and Ethereum. The two are now in the mainstream of the financial market which is the main thing when it comes to their asset class. They are not the direct country's money so you don't expect them to be spent on the street. Bitcoin itself has done the undone, now you can still buy some things directly with Bitcoin, after all, you don't hold paper BTC, you make your electronic transactions online, and you can't expect everyone to buy biscuits or sweets on the street with it.

Do you know how many people transact with Bitcoin daily despite the transaction fee challenges? This is a coin that has done enough in a very short time and I do not think anyone should want more from it. Come to think of it, Gold has lived for centuries and is even used as a medium of transactions by some people, has it gotten to the level of financial transactions of Bitcoin online? Or has it been spent on the street yet? These are different asset classes that you can easily change to your fiats and spend it anyhow you want, not otherwise as you thought. It has killed many fiat transactions online in case you don't know, everything must not be physical spending. For Bitcoin to have even done more than that, it deserves kudos already.

[Husires]

We need to wait for a longer, 20 to 30 years from the date of 2010, until we decide whether Bitcoin is here to continue or whether it will end. The technology is still new and people are still ignorant of the meaning of Bitcoin and its importance as a financial instrument alongside all of the available financial instruments, and it may be the backbone of international trade. Bitcoin is now in the growth phase. If it succeeds in having a large number of users, acceptable fees, speed in transactions and continuous development, and it continues until 2030, then we can judge the future.

[Blitzboy]

Your concern regarding Bitcoin's popular adoption is its everyday utility. History: conventional currencies evolved over ages. Bitcoin, meanwhile, is young. Not simply buying water bottles, but establishing an infrastructure that integrates digital currencies into daily life. This is gradual and complicated.

Your political point is important. Current financial systems and governments may oppose decentralized currencies. Remember that innovation generally confronts resistance before adoption. The internet, once innovative, is now essential. Blockchain technology might disrupt finance and other industries, disrupting power systems.

The potential alien civilization parallel is crazy. It emphasizes that social and legislative constraints limit us, not technology. Blockchain technology can be universally adopted with a perception and regulatory shift. Bitcoin's general acceptance is a marathon that requires patience, ingenuity, and social change.

[big kid]

Well, that's true but I don't see it as a problem. I would never want to simply spend my BTC, it's an investment for me. And buying water or food with would feel like a waste of it.

[bhadz]

Well, I couldn't agree more that on the early days of Bitcoin it is highly unlikely that we see it on the mainstream. But within just a few years of this continuous market and adoption, we're seeing that it is the institutions that are doing their own thing for doing mass adoption of Bitcoin. While there will be debates that these institutions aren't for the tech and decentralization because they are obvious into centralization. What do we ask for? This type of adoption that comes from the mainstream and financial institutions themselves that are speaking and defending Bitcoin.

[komisariatku]

Bitcoins and other cryptos will never become mainstream before... people can buy water bottles with them.

I don't think bitcoin needs to become the mainstream of world money because bitcoin is still not effective for that. In addition, even though Bitcoin is not the world's main currency, this will not affect its value. We can see that gold used to be gold as currency, now it no longer exists but the value of gold is not affected even though it is no longer currency, gold always has its own value because of the trust and rarity of gold. This applies to bitcoins

[kojektea]

I agree with all of that. I am sure that the current we face in the future will not be one hundred percent the same as what we saw before, even though the analysis parameters always say that this will happen again, the fact is that every year or season will change and how society accepts crypto also has an impact on all of this. . What is most likely is that we have to be clever at dealing with the problems that society offers us as crypto experts, how do we solve those problems, then crypto will be easily adopted by society, easily known and used by them. This will create a positive new trend that has never happened before.

[Darker45]

The reality is that, why should people be buying water bottles with Bitcoin? If we consider the practicality of it all, why should we choose Bitcoin as payment for our cup of coffee? Sometimes I wonder whether those videos of children buying a piece of banana or a glass of lemonade using Bitcoin is the best way to promote Bitcoin. Cold cash would be best. Perhaps Bitcoin's whitepaper is where the point is, that it is an electronic cash, that it is for online payments, for eCommerce purposes.

[taufik123]

I don't think bitcoin needs to become the mainstream of world money because bitcoin is still not effective for that. In addition, even though Bitcoin is not the world's main currency, this will not affect its value. We can see that gold used to be gold as currency, now it no longer exists but the value of gold is not affected even though it is no longer currency, gold always has its own value because of the trust and rarity of gold. This applies to bitcoins

Bitcoin is still quite risky with high price volatility, if it is used as the world's main cash flow it will not be good.
Bitcoin is still the most sought-after digital currency and is becoming optional for payments other than Fiat in countries that fully accept Bitcoin.

Bitcoin also has a scarcity and Bitcoin supply is only 21 Million BTC available,
but not all of them are in circulation and some are buried in abandoned wallets.

But of course it is different from gold because Bitcoin does not have a physical form.
Gold as a Safe Haven Asset is quite popular, but Bitcoin cannot be used as a Safe Haven Asset because of its rapid fluctuations.

The reality is that, why should people be buying water bottles with Bitcoin? If we consider the practicality of it all, why should we choose Bitcoin as payment for our cup of coffee? Sometimes I wonder whether those videos of children buying a piece of banana or a glass of lemonade using Bitcoin is the best way to promote Bitcoin. Cold cash would be best. Perhaps Bitcoin's whitepaper is where the point is, that it is an electronic cash, that it is for online payments, for eCommerce purposes.

Yes, and in the modern era like today, Online transactions are needed, Bitcoin is a good option for Online payments and ecommerce.
But Bitcoin's current problem is scalability, which has recently been paralyzed by an increasingly dense buildup of transactions and this has brought traffic jams with fees rising dramatically.
The Lightning network could be a solution, but there are those who oppose it and development is also lacking.

[btc78]

Well, that's true but I don't see it as a problem. I would never want to simply spend my BTC, it's an investment for me. And buying water or food with would feel like a waste of it.

It would not feel like a waste if spending bitcoin on mundane things was normalized and everyone else was doing it

Of course now, with high transaction fees, you would not think to buy a product as simple as a bottle of water with bitcoin but if bitcoin were to be developed for the better and reduce the high fees and have its value be stable then it would act more as a currency and less as an investment

[Darker45]

The reality is that, why should people be buying water bottles with Bitcoin? If we consider the practicality of it all, why should we choose Bitcoin as payment for our cup of coffee? Sometimes I wonder whether those videos of children buying a piece of banana or a glass of lemonade using Bitcoin is the best way to promote Bitcoin. Cold cash would be best. Perhaps Bitcoin's whitepaper is where the point is, that it is an electronic cash, that it is for online payments, for eCommerce purposes.

Yes, and in the modern era like today, Online transactions are needed, Bitcoin is a good option for Online payments and ecommerce.
But Bitcoin's current problem is scalability, which has recently been paralyzed by an increasingly dense buildup of transactions and this has brought traffic jams with fees rising dramatically.
The Lightning network could be a solution, but there are those who oppose it and development is also lacking.

Bitcoin has grown into something else, or at least it has more than one function now. It isn't anymore just the internet money that it used to be mainly about. I don't know whether the thing that paves way for monkeys and punks and rocks and shrooms is essentially a bug or a vulnerability or a feature, but it seems obvious to me that Bitcoin is primarily for monetary or financial purposes. Now, it's kind of funny and sad how the main purpose has to take the alternate route, the layer 2, because the main network is busy with inscriptions.

[thecodebear]

Bitcoins and other cryptos will never become mainstream before... people can buy water bottles with them.

Quite simple, many expecting an explosive entropy of the bitcoin adoption / price but truth is the average folk most common needs and use of money aren't met by bitcoin, this fact goes against the very foundation of any successfully implemented mean of money anytime across recorded history. It really is a political problem at it's core, the deep states run by bankers won't let a viable alternative co-exist in the streets. I have no doubt that with truly liberal and free alien civilizations, the blockchain technology would have attained (for all purposes) universal adoption in a shorter time that the cryptos have been around by now here.

What are your takes about that sentiment?

Using it for purchases is the final phase of hard money adoption. First Bitcoin was a tech experiment, then it was a risky get rich quick scheme, then it was the best investment on the planet, now its between its investment phase and savings phase. Once people have been saving in Bitcoin for a good number of years then they'll feel comfortable spending it. Right now its still too early in adoption to spend for most people because why spend something that is gonna go up 5x in the next couple years.

2030s and 2040s is when we'll see the transition to starting to actually spend it. So in the meantime we have time for those point of sales to get built on and adopted. By that time Bitcoin volatility will be much lower, hundreds of millions of people will have saved/grown a lot of money with Bitcoin, and they'll be ready to start spending. Afterall the whole point of savings it to eventually spend it.

[Zlantann]

Bitcoins and other cryptos will never become mainstream before... people can buy water bottles with them.

Quite simple, many expecting an explosive entropy of the bitcoin adoption / price but truth is the average folk most common needs and use of money aren't met by bitcoin, this fact goes against the very foundation of any successfully implemented mean of money anytime across recorded history. It really is a political problem at it's core, the deep states run by bankers won't let a viable alternative co-exist in the streets. I have no doubt that with truly liberal and free alien civilizations, the blockchain technology would have attained (for all purposes) universal adoption in a shorter time that the cryptos have been around by now here.

What are your takes about that sentiment?

There are so may barrier that is limiting the adoption and use if Bitcoin. One if it is that most people see the coin as an asset rather than a currency. People prefer to use hodl it than to use it as a currency. Its profitability will continue to make people see it as an investment rather than a currency.  Politics has also affected the adoption of the currency. Most countries have made unfavourable policies that have discouraged people from using Bitcoin for daily transactions. Some politicians see it as a threat to centralization so they want to do everything possible to discourage people from using it. In developing nations poverty, lack of infrastructure like internet connections and illiteracy will always limit Bitcoin from becoming a mainstream currency. Bitcoin adoption as a currency will happen gradually and it will become faster when the currency becomes less volatile.

[Games.Bitcoin]

There are some major barriers to mainstream adoption of Bitcoin and other currencies. Only by overcoming these hurdles can Bitcoin and other currencies achieve mainstream adoption. Challenges such as regulatory clarity, scalability issues and widespread adoption may be encountered. Moreover, scalability concerns related to how to control these digital assets across the globe and their transaction speed and energy efficiency pose barriers to widespread use. However, if this digital asset is to become an integral part of the global economic landscape, it will not be possible without widespread acceptance.

[Silberman]

Bitcoins and other cryptos will never become mainstream before... people can buy water bottles with them.

Quite simple, many expecting an explosive entropy of the bitcoin adoption / price but truth is the average folk most common needs and use of money aren't met by bitcoin, this fact goes against the very foundation of any successfully implemented mean of money anytime across recorded history. It really is a political problem at it's core, the deep states run by bankers won't let a viable alternative co-exist in the streets. I have no doubt that with truly liberal and free alien civilizations, the blockchain technology would have attained (for all purposes) universal adoption in a shorter time that the cryptos have been around by now here.

What are your takes about that sentiment?

Not really, we do not need bitcoin to replace fiat, right now the adoption of bitcoin is low because its use as a currency is not really appreciated by the people, after all if they have fiat they do not see the need to use bitcoin, so what is keeping bitcoin strong at the moment is mostly its value as an investment, however as soon as the major fiat currencies around the world encounter some issues and people begin to lose money that is when major adoption could happen, and we are already seeing examples of this, because in the countries in which the fiat currency of the local government has experimented major inflation the use of other currencies, including bitcoin, has gone up.

[Jawhead999]

this fact goes against the very foundation of any successfully implemented mean of money anytime across recorded history.

The founder was saying Bitcoin is like a commodity, Bitcoin isn't must to be used as a currency.

After all every person has it's own choice to use Bitcoin for what purpose, if you want to use it to buy water that worth $1 and spend $30 for the fees, then I can't stop you for doing that.

But I use it as an investment since Bitcoin is very volatile.

Bitcoins have no dividend or potential future dividend, therefore not like a stock.

More like a collectible or commodity.

[so98nn]

I like to read the discussion about Bitcoin adoption in the world as it is always a hot topic and different thoughts start to circulate. However, I have seen most of the time discussion ends at the point where Bitcoin is most likely not gonna be a mainstream currency. I am also one of the voters who think Bitcoin won't be a mainstream currency at all. I am one of the people who would want it to be one but it just can't. The limit of its supply makes it a limited asset with high demand in the future. This can lead to heavy congestion in the near future, if more and more adoption comes then it will escalate the burden on the blockchain network in no time. Imagine the situation right now, it's worse. The fees are high, the confirmation times are off the roof, so this doesn't really qualify as the perfect currency exchange.  However, it does qualify for the best stable asset for long-term holding.

[CryptounityCUT]

Well, I wouldn't say that things need to come to purchasing water with crypto because the mainstream adoption will be much greater if banks get approval to be a Bitcoin custodian, fair value accounting, and if the spot Bitcoin ETF is approved. This is the most valuable thing Bitcoin will ever get because BlackRock revised their ETF application, so big banks such as JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs may now accumulate Bitcoin (if the ETF is approved) and have Bitcoin on their balance sheet.

If we tap into "buying water with crypto," it's already in place in third countries such as more than half of Africa, Latin America, etc. They are already using the Lightning Network (LN) to purchase goods and services. Even a chicken from the neighbor can be bought with LN. That is why you also see growing crypto payments in Africa, and a lot of countries there don't have a good internet connection like we do here in the EU or the USA, etc. So, this is not even a problem because nowadays applications can be used for crypto payments without an internet connection.