Bitcoin was created to reform money and provide financial freedom

[Blitzboy]

I like to do that but no store in my area is accepting bitcoin in fact they don't even know the name. And those who use exchange to buy bitcoin because it is the fastest way to acquire bitcoin.

Despite the popularity of Bitcoin, there are still many people who do not know about Bitcoin. But when they know about it, they try to get involved quickly. Due to the government restrictions, many people can't do anything whatever they like. There are many bitcoin enthusiasts in my local area who want to transact with bitcoin for buying goods or necessary things but are deterred from using bitcoin because of the legal complications. But personally they are very enthusiastic about holding and many have been accumulating bitcoins for a long time. I strongly believe that in the long run Bitcoin will surely become one of the most popular means of transactions. P2P will gradually take over the space, especially if Bitcoin is not allowed to be used at all.

Bitcoin offers freedom from failing financial systems. Regaining control over our financial independence from the government. This movement started with local and global enthusiasts. They're visionaries and investors. Bitcoin promotes a stable, unmanipulated financial system. The goal is to empower people and encourage independence and long-term planning. Building a Bitcoin portfolio is an investment in a future where people control their finances.

To people in legal trouble: persevere. The tide is turning. More individuals understanding and adopting Bitcoin will drive governments to adjust. It's already happening. Bitcoin's long-term goal is a sustainable, decentralized financial system, not only transactions. Keep your Bitcoin. Ignore skeptics. Bitcoin is leading the decentralized future. Your Bitcoin optimism is justified. It's about altering money mindsets, not just simplifying transactions. Stay educated, enthusiastic, and most importantly invested. Best is yet to come.

[BlackHatCoiner]

You can buy the GLD ETF at whatever fraction you want, and this is all done on the Internet. But sure, if you don't like gold, there are millions of other investments you can try (and you can buy REIT shares if you want to expose yourself to real estate, for instance).

But, are these as flexible as Bitcoin? Bitcoin is really the investment of the layman. They don't need to sign any documents, nor trust any financial institutions. Just create a wallet, and have coins sent to it.

Lots and lots of investors have been burned throughout the years by being convinced, "it will never go down" when discussing their favorite thing to invest in. I guess all I could say is, be careful with that, and keep a diverse portfolio. No financial instrument is "invulnerable".

By "invulnerable", I don't mean "always going up". I mean that it does not come with the aforementioned drawbacks of gold, stocks, real estate etc. That's why I consider it superior in terms of an instrument to put your savings to.

[legiteum]

You can buy the GLD ETF at whatever fraction you want, and this is all done on the Internet. But sure, if you don't like gold, there are millions of other investments you can try (and you can buy REIT shares if you want to expose yourself to real estate, for instance).

But, are these as flexible as Bitcoin? Bitcoin is really the investment of the layman. They don't need to sign any documents, nor trust any financial institutions. Just create a wallet, and have coins sent to it.

As an investment they would be more flexible than Bitcoin since they integrate with the rest of a typical consumer's investment dashboard. You can buy the products on margin, schedule purchases, do program trades, and all kinds of things. And things like tax reporting is built right in to the system so it doesn't leave you a nightmare filing mess at the end of the year.

And unless you want to engage in tax evasion, you absolutely need to sign documents, at least in terms of reporting any gains you realize.

And buying Bitcoin without presenting anybody with any sort of identification is exceedingly hard for the average consumer--it's practically tradecraft. (I personally wouldn't even know how to do this, and I've googled it before, and I'm surely far more savvy than the average consumer).

Lots and lots of investors have been burned throughout the years by being convinced, "it will never go down" when discussing their favorite thing to invest in. I guess all I could say is, be careful with that, and keep a diverse portfolio. No financial instrument is "invulnerable".

By "invulnerable", I don't mean "always going up". I mean that it does not come with the aforementioned drawbacks of gold, stocks, real estate etc. That's why I consider it superior in terms of an instrument to put your savings to.

Yeah, believing it will never ever fall from it's current level is the same... judgement shall we say... as believing it's going to keep going up. Bitcoin fell by 80% just two years ago. Did something about it change since then that has made in invulnerable to such devaluation? Bitcoin's price is driven by masses of consumer investors being convinced the price will go up--consumer sentiment. In my experience, something like that can change in a heartbeat.

[BlackHatCoiner]

As an investment they would be more flexible than Bitcoin since they integrate with the rest of a typical consumer's investment dashboard. You can buy the products on margin, schedule purchases, do program trades, and all kinds of things. And things like tax reporting is built right in to the system so it doesn't leave you a nightmare filing mess at the end of the year.

You're bringing some good points. It's just that I, personally, like actually owning the investment, not having the investment written to my name. Maybe it has to do with the aesthetics, but I just prefer engaging in a very transparent procedure, that is buying bitcoin, than messing with broker firms and stocks that I'll have to oversee every month.

Did something about it change since then that has made in invulnerable to such devaluation?

It is absolutely vulnerable to devaluation, just as any other property or investment.

[oktana]

The truth remains that no matter how many centralized exchanges, users always have the choice to use decentralized wallets and exchanges. No matter what happens, Bitcoin’s features are permanent and can’t be modified. The bad part of the Bitcoin ETF approval is that it will draw attention so people will rather use Bitcoin as an investment other than a currency. And if a bigger percent of holders think that way then we may never fully grow as a currency.

Weren't people using BTC as an investment than currency long before ETFs came around? I understand the current situation will lead us towards mass accumulation of BTC's supply among a few. But people ultimately decide the fate of the cryptocurrency. If the majority sells to big institutions and governments, Bitcoin will move away from its original purpose. Fingers crossed this won't happen in the long run.

Yes it was but isn’t this more like fueling a burning fire instead of using a fire extinguisher? More people will invest in Bitcoin but the actual vision is dying.

Luckily, the Bitcoin project is open source and decentralized. If all else fails, what's stopping the community from "forking off" to a new chain?

And how does it solve anything? Creating a fork doesn’t sound like a solution. We need our one and only Bitcoin to serve its purpose, even if volatility could still exist.

[jrrsparkles]

That's what freedom does, perform anything you want with your money and using third party for exchanging Bitcoin to crypto and vice versa is their choice and you can't force the people to do what they have to.

Using Bitcoin as money is good but using Bitcoin as investment made more people to actually enters into the Bitcoin in first place and in future we don't know how it turns out to be.

[n0ne]

That's what freedom does, perform anything you want with your money and using third party for exchanging Bitcoin to crypto and vice versa is their choice and you can't force the people to do what they have to.

Using Bitcoin as money is good but using Bitcoin as investment made more people to actually enters into the Bitcoin in first place and in future we don't know how it turns out to be.

Bitcoin got innovated for some purpose, and over the years it started to get a transition as an investment rather than money. As a form of money, bitcoin eliminates third parties. However, people are very used to centralized services, and the same has led them to use bitcoin on centralized services. So, the prime purpose behind the innovation isn't effective. The growth of bitcoin in a much shorter time period has made it a highly profitable investment and trading asset. Bitcoin provides financial freedom, but people are more interested in the profit it provides than the freedom provided by the innovation.

[God bless u]

Despite the popularity of Bitcoin, there are still many people who do not know about Bitcoin. But when they know about it, they try to get involved quickly. Due to the government restrictions, many people can't do anything whatever they like. There are many bitcoin enthusiasts in my local area who want to transact with bitcoin for buying goods or necessary things but are deterred from using bitcoin because of the legal complications. But personally they are very enthusiastic about holding and many have been accumulating bitcoins for a long time. I strongly believe that in the long run Bitcoin will surely become one of the most popular means of transactions. P2P will gradually take over the space, especially if Bitcoin is not allowed to be used at all.

The interest of people in using Bitcoin as a means of payment for their purchases will barely have any impact on the matter as long as the government of a country isn't ready to allow them to do that. Merchants wouldn't be able to accept Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies for their businesses if there were legal consequences to that. Such things don't exist in some parts of the world, however, in other parts, the governments and authorities are completely against Bitcoin.

The reason for that is simple, they know if they allow people to use Bitcoin for their payments and purchases, they wouldn't be able to track the finances of every individual hence they will have no control over it and they don't want that to happen.

[jrrsparkles]

That's what freedom does, perform anything you want with your money and using third party for exchanging Bitcoin to crypto and vice versa is their choice and you can't force the people to do what they have to.

Using Bitcoin as money is good but using Bitcoin as investment made more people to actually enters into the Bitcoin in first place and in future we don't know how it turns out to be.

Bitcoin got innovated for some purpose, and over the years it started to get a transition as an investment rather than money. As a form of money, bitcoin eliminates third parties. However, people are very used to centralized services, and the same has led them to use bitcoin on centralized services. So, the prime purpose behind the innovation isn't effective. The growth of bitcoin in a much shorter time period has made it a highly profitable investment and trading asset. Bitcoin provides financial freedom, but people are more interested in the profit it provides than the freedom provided by the innovation.

Bitcoin is mainly used for investment purpose but we can't deny that it's also used in various places as form of payment for example online casino, where most of the Bitcoin is actually spent as money and it got adapted by users completely because of the convenience and every regulated platforms is kind of having KYC policies these days so unless it's p2p transactions there will be no more completely decentralised system.

[Troytech]

Nothing wrong with using Bitcoin as an investment, ETFs, entities besides individuals owning Bitcoin. That's all natural because Bitcoin is money.

But for sure it would be good if we could development a much larger ecosystem of decentralized exchanges. The ones I know of have almost no volume compared to crypto exchanges and so you don't get good prices on them. Also they are naturally harder to use.

I think getting a DEX movement going and getting people on LN is the way to go.

LN allows payment to be cheap and instant, which is the only way payments are going to get popular. Even if at first its just used how Venmo is used to pass money between friends, rather than pay at merchants which requires merchant adoption. Though taxes are of course a problem if you're passing bitcoin between friends that's all taxable. Though it'd be a a pretty small use of bitcoin (not like selling lots of bitcoin) and the IRS wouldn't even be able to track it so maybe that's the sort of thing that could slide under the table without any real issues, sorta like when workers get paid in cash.

And then if DEXes could get popular enough to get real volume their prices wouldn't be so far away from the spot price and they'd become more useful. And then you can keep your bitcoin privacy. But its hard to get to that point because crypto exchanges are just so much easier to use.



Realistically I think building p2p connections happens at the local level. There are small communities in various places in the world who regularly use Bitcoin because they have a weak currency or don't have easy access to digital banking services and stuff like that, so it benefits everyone in the community to use Bitcoin. I think p2p usage gradually spreads out from those places to encompass a wider and wider net. The average person in a first world country and lots of non-first world countries don't have a huge need for p2p payments. For those populations growing one's wealth and wealth sovereignty I think are currently the main use cases. Though of course eventually being able to easily spend the wealth, including in p2p ways rather than just customer-merchant ways, would be ideal.

I feel we over expected too much from bitcoin even if it has done doing fine in the past 13 years, fait has been around for more than a century now and bitcoin is just 14 years in, we can't tell how the next 29 years would be, scalability might be problem of the past and gas fees would get wven lower and affordable for people to use for daily transactions.

And for a innovation still very young bitcoin has been doing fine, not only has it proved to be a better money than all fait currency, but I has withstood so many challenges from government and many negative news that affected it socially like at the time of mt gox hack and so many early hacking that bitcoin faced at a early stage.

Bitcoin might also well not achieve scalability and that's why alt coins exist to back it up in some areas, so many other alts can be used for daily transactions with low gas fees, so this is still an issue for someone new to bitcoin and doesn't know his way around.

Bitcoin can only be approached as an investment cause that is the only working sector now, and to show that digital currency might well be the next phase of innovation in the economy, in 5 years from now I'm speculating counties having their own digital currency to help fix inflation of their local currency.

Im just sure we are making progress is quite goo early to be judging bitcoin.

By "invulnerable", I don't mean "always going up". I mean that it does not come with the aforementioned drawbacks of gold, stocks, real estate etc. That's why I consider it superior in terms of an instrument to put your savings to.

Bitcoin is also well reaching that sage of drawbacks, just imagine all this big companies has well bough quite the amount of the total supply of bitcoin which I see as their plan,  dont you think they would have power to manipulate price of bitcoin, just imagine what one massive selling from any big companies now or ETF would do to bitcoin price now, a major bear spike can just be created instantly.

I feel every financial or investment asset starts out fine untill someone became too power to be able to control it and this is the inevitable future of bitcoin if big players are well in control of most of it.

What power does retail investors have unless to hold their bitcoin safely and wait, we can't even challenge anyone in buying, and if they all decide to sell now, bitcoin price to the gutters, so I think bitcoin also has those invulnerabilities mention, just we can't see it coming yet.

[Reatim]

That's what freedom does, perform anything you want with your money and using third party for exchanging Bitcoin to crypto and vice versa is their choice and you can't force the people to do what they have to.

correct it is our money/crypto so it is our choice and option and I don't knw why others making this as an issue when it does not even our concern as buyer/seller.

Using Bitcoin as money is good but using Bitcoin as investment made more people to actually enters into the Bitcoin in first place and in future we don't know how it turns out to be.

actually there are few people that first hear and use bitcoin as payment material and just after they start investing.

[johnsaributua]

Yes that's right, the crisis in various countries from time to time is so deep and makes the task bigger plus inflation is getting worse. and I don't like the pattern and flow of fiat money before knowing bitcoin. Can fight with the elite elites who make fiat money like a toy to invest or circulate.

By far the biggest effect of bitcoin is that I can rise and invest whatever I want. with freedom and units without oppressing with exchange rates and transparency, I am very comfortable with bitcoin and from marketcap I learned that bitcoin is an investment in the future.

So far I am not allergic to these 2 currencies because they have different functions. Fiat is for exchange and bitcoin is a set that is stored. because not all traders around me use crypto currencies, especially those who are over 50 years old.

I believe bitcoin will still have a long way to go and will be more evenly used in the future.

[BlackHatCoiner]

So, the prime purpose behind the innovation isn't effective.

If the "prime purpose" was to create peer-to-peer cash, then indeed, it hasn't convinced a lot of people to use it over their fiat currencies (even though it still serves that purpose for those in need). However, if the "prime purpose" was to create borderless, denationalized money that is resistant to governmental intervention, then I'll say it's very effective.  

we can't tell how the next 29 years would be, scalability might be problem of the past and gas fees would get wven lower and affordable for people to use for daily transactions.

Bitcoin does not have gas fees! Ethereum does.

Bitcoin is also well reaching that sage of drawbacks, just imagine all this big companies has well bough quite the amount of the total supply of bitcoin which I see as their plan,  dont you think they would have power to manipulate price of bitcoin

Of course they do, but isn't every other financial instrument vulnerable to the same market manipulation?

[lixer]

Bitcoin offers freedom from failing financial systems. Regaining control over our financial independence from the government. This movement started with local and global enthusiasts. They're visionaries and investors. Bitcoin promotes a stable, unmanipulated financial system. The goal is to empower people and encourage independence and long-term planning. Building a Bitcoin portfolio is an investment in a future where people control their finances.

To people in legal trouble: persevere. The tide is turning. More individuals understanding and adopting Bitcoin will drive governments to adjust. It's already happening. Bitcoin's long-term goal is a sustainable, decentralized financial system, not only transactions. Keep your Bitcoin. Ignore skeptics. Bitcoin is leading the decentralized future. Your Bitcoin optimism is justified. It's about altering money mindsets, not just simplifying transactions. Stay educated, enthusiastic, and most importantly invested. Best is yet to come.

Well, I guess we all who are living in countries and regions where governments and authorities aren't very Bitcoin or cryptocurrency-friendly are hopeful and always praying that things might get change as we enter the future because the whole world is recognizing the potential of Bitcoin and how useful it can be for countries and their citizens, it can help people earn money while on the go, if one can afford to get together a small capital, they can start earning money if they are struggling with job placement and similar issues.

Let's hope that countries and governments that aren't supporting the movement understand this thing as soon as possible and instead of thinking about personal benefits such as having control and stuff, they start thinking about the future of their country and people.

[Abiky]

The interest of people in using Bitcoin as a means of payment for their purchases will barely have any impact on the matter as long as the government of a country isn't ready to allow them to do that. Merchants wouldn't be able to accept Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies for their businesses if there were legal consequences to that. Such things don't exist in some parts of the world, however, in other parts, the governments and authorities are completely against Bitcoin.

The reason for that is simple, they know if they allow people to use Bitcoin for their payments and purchases, they wouldn't be able to track the finances of every individual hence they will have no control over it and they don't want that to happen.

Actually, governments can track and trace the finances of each individual. They can either analyze the Blockchain using a block explorer, or hire a surveillance/analytics company like Chainalysis to do the job. Bitcoin's transparency is the main reason why most criminals avoid it in the first place. But if you're talking about privacy coins like Monero and Grin, that's a whole different story. Things are now worse with institutional companies buying all of the BTC.

You will eventually lose your freedom and self-sovereignity if these giants dominate the industry. That's assuming you sell your BTC to them. Holding coins at CEXs is also a problem because you don't fully own your BTC (not your keys, not your coins). Self-custody of BTC is the only way to safeguard Bitcoin's original values. Hopefully, more people would get educated about this before it's too late.

[legiteum]

The interest of people in using Bitcoin as a means of payment for their purchases will barely have any impact on the matter as long as the government of a country isn't ready to allow them to do that. Merchants wouldn't be able to accept Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies for their businesses if there were legal consequences to that. Such things don't exist in some parts of the world, however, in other parts, the governments and authorities are completely against Bitcoin.

The reason for that is simple, they know if they allow people to use Bitcoin for their payments and purchases, they wouldn't be able to track the finances of every individual hence they will have no control over it and they don't want that to happen.

Actually, governments can track and trace the finances of each individual. They can either analyze the Blockchain using a block explorer, or hire a surveillance/analytics company like Chainalysis to do the job. Bitcoin's transparency is the main reason why most criminals avoid it in the first place. But if you're talking about privacy coins like Monero and Grin, that's a whole different story. Things are now worse with institutional companies buying all of the BTC.

That's all true, but it's important to not lose sight of the fact of Bitcoin's original purpose, which was to evade government oversight into transactions. That it has effectively failed in its original mission doesn't change the fact that it was designed solely to do that.

Today, Bitcoin's only viable purpose remaining use is being a speculation instrument and a store of large-scale value (e.g. for holdings >$10k for instance). Monera et. al. have a niche for those trying to evade their government, but this isn't a problem most people have.

[Youngkhngdiddy]

I applaud you because you are one of the rare people who are still trying to protect the original purpose for which bitcoin was created .  But I also disagree that you're trying to blame ETFs for turning bitcoin into an investment and not a currency. Because obviously we've considered it an investment since it was created and not because the ETFs have turned it into an investment. If you want to blame, blame the original investor, don't try to blame the government or any regulations.

But in my opinion , what bitcoin is is not so important , the important thing is that it has been bringing benefits to everyone .Bitcoin is an investment and it is bringing financial prosperity to some people , and that is what we should look at. Don't be too conservative just because it cannot become the world currency as it was originally intended .

    Unless you stay away from the Internet or live in a cave (which you don’t because you are on our website, Bitcoin talk), you’ve probably heard about Bitcoin. Though, there are still people who have strong negative views and opinions on what Bitcoin truly is, its legitimacy and whether it’s beneficial to society. Such discussions, however, are meaningful and it’s important for people to know everything there is to know about Bitcoin so that they can contribute to the ongoing dialogue about the cryptocurrency and its potential. There’s always something about Bitcoin that leaves us to ponder. One thing that’s for sure is that Bitcoin is no fraud. Bitcoin talk wants to make sure that people are well-educated on the topic of cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin specifically and know the facts before questioning its relevance.
    I don’t think anyone here would want to deny that Bitcoin has not been useful to them one way or another, many benefits Bitcoin has brought into this era. With the many protocols and restrictions set by the government over Bitcoin should be enough sign that it wasn’t going to be easy on Bitcoin, why because it set as a competition to their fiat which is bad business to them. It going to take the government a while to fully adopt this new technology.  Technology change over decades, when the internet began, it’s impossible to say for certain, if the internet can revolutionize the computer and communications world like nothing before. The invention of the internet is not limited to, email or social media, in fact, over years Internet represents one of the most successful examples of disruptive technologies in shaping the business like big data, the cloud, IOT, robotics, or even artificial intelligence. Blockchain is next big thing.

[Abiky]

That's all true, but it's important to not lose sight of the fact of Bitcoin's original purpose, which was to evade government oversight into transactions. That it has effectively failed in its original mission doesn't change the fact that it was designed solely to do that.

Today, Bitcoin's only viable purpose remaining is being a speculation instrument and a store of large-scale value (e.g. for holdings >$10k for instance). Monera et. al. have a niche for those trying to evade their government, but this isn't a problem most people have.

Some say Satoshi really wanted BTC to be transparent to help detect corruption, manipulation, and fraud on the Blockchain. It's rather a feature than a bug. Many misunderstood Bitcoin's capabilities, and took it for granted as a privacy coin. But as time went by, we've discovered that was not truly the case. We now have to use anonymization techniques (CoinJoin, new BTC address per transaction, round amounts, etc) or a separate cryptocurrency with enforced privacy (Monero, Grin) to hide our utmost sensitive info from prying eyes.

Privacy and freedom still exist in Bitcoin, despite the fact that most companies own most of the supply. Regulations become stricter each day with the goal of preventing as much people as possible from obtaining true financial freedom. The question is: Will you protect your right to privacy and freedom?

[yazher]

Because banks are so tight in their rules that they are ruling our money from us and we can't even spend too much also we cannot deposit beyond their given limit as well without asking multiple questions which is not appropriate for us especially if we own those money and their only job is to keep it safely while we pay them for it. But these banks were making it hard for us when they decided to implement countless rules and regulations. Now that we have bitcoins, it's a big slap on them because finally, we can have our own financial freedom without them getting involved in every transaction that we are doing.

[legiteum]

Because banks are so tight in their rules that they are ruling our money from us and we can't even spend too much also we cannot deposit beyond their given limit as well without asking multiple questions which is not appropriate for us especially if we own those money and their only job is to keep it safely while we pay them for it. But these banks were making it hard for us when they decided to implement countless rules and regulations. Now that we have bitcoins, it's a big slap on them because finally, we can have our own financial freedom without them getting involved in every transaction that we are doing.

It's not the banks who impose these rules, it's your government. Banks just want to make money, and they would make a lot more if they were able to take in money without any controls.