The future of Bitcoin

[tottong]

The big question is of course: The only really Bitcoin-friendly country so far is El Salvador, some other relatively friendly ones like Singapore aren't at the same level. Will the US for example join this club as Trump promised? What about European countries (Czech Republic for example)?

You are right because only El Salvador accepts bitcoin as a legal tender while most other countries only apply bitcoin as an investment asset so to smooth bitcoin as a legal tender like fiat currency may not be as easy as imagined.
Each country certainly has a different view on accepting bitcoin and generally they apply tax as an option to gain profit, regardless of how the tax is regulated.

My country does not provide access to purchases using bitcoin like using fiat currency and existing regulations will actually sanction anyone who violates it.
So the decision to accept bitcoin as an investment asset is still better for us for now than trying to fight the regulation.

[Abiky]

Bitcoin on the main chain is not suited for smaller, daily transactions anyways (but for bigger purchases that would not be as frequent - sure, why not), so for now, everybody found that investment purpose as the main one simply of how easy and stable it is.
BTC provides that and even more.

The main chain's scaling problems can be easily "fixed" by increasing the block size. Depending on a centralized L2 network like the Lightning Network is not the ideal long-term solution. For Bitcoin to have a bright future as a currency, scaling issues need to be addressed ASAP.

As a store of value (Digital Gold), it's doing fine. Most people only get into Bitcoin to make a lot of money, so they will not care about high fees or slow confirmation times. They want to use it as a store of value. I wouldn't expect this to change anytime soon. At least we know Bitcoin will outlive most "shitcoins". Just keep "hodling" BTC and forget about the rest. 

[RockBell]

It has not changed and is still a digital currency that makes it easy for users to make transactions without having to queue like at a bank. If in practice many people use Bitcoin as an asset that is purchased to be stored and then sold when the price is high, for me that is also part of Bitcoin's advantages that must be viewed from a positive perspective in the sense that they understand that Bitcoin can be used for that and most importantly they know Bitcoin is not a scam.

when it comes to trading bitcoin it is one of the easiest when it comes to the acquisition of the asset and only when you want to trade bitcoin that is when all this process come in because there is no way that you will trade that you won't seek extra knowledge because when you understand the pattern and the market structure that is when you will be able to trade to with the knowledge of this patterns.

when you don't have a proper understanding that is when you will struggle because you will want to make random guesses and when it comes to trading you can not depend on that, because you will lose more money than expected.

bitcoin is not a scam for those who understand it it does those who don't understand it and are looking at it to be a scam but it is not like they even care the moment they don't make money then Bitcoin is a scam to them.

[doomloop]

The big question is of course: The only really Bitcoin-friendly country so far is El Salvador, some other relatively friendly ones like Singapore aren't at the same level. Will the US for example join this club as Trump promised? What about European countries (Czech Republic for example)?

You are right because only El Salvador accepts bitcoin as a legal tender while most other countries only apply bitcoin as an investment asset so to smooth bitcoin as a legal tender like fiat currency may not be as easy as imagined.
Each country certainly has a different view on accepting bitcoin and generally they apply tax as an option to gain profit, regardless of how the tax is regulated.

My country does not provide access to purchases using bitcoin like using fiat currency and existing regulations will actually sanction anyone who violates it.
So the decision to accept bitcoin as an investment asset is still better for us for now than trying to fight the regulation.

My nation just allows exchanges, meaning that we do not really have any legal tender thing, but also it is not really helped if you allow crypto payments. This means, if I sell you one phone, and you pay me in bitcoin, but my phone is broken and you only realize that after you got it, you have no protection, and that's a big trouble. If you bought it with fiat, you would have the courts on your side and you would definitely try to get your money back.

This is why crypto is as far away from currency as it gets here, it is only an asset. But, it is okay to have an asset, they do protect that, as in if an exchange closes shop and runs away with your money, they do chase them, even caught some people who did that so I would say my nation sees it only as an investment, not as a currency.

[hero_the_bossman]

The main chain's scaling problems can be easily "fixed" by increasing the block size. Depending on a centralized L2 network like the Lightning Network is not the ideal long-term solution. For Bitcoin to have a bright future as a currency, scaling issues need to be addressed ASAP.

As a store of value (Digital Gold), it's doing fine. Most people only get into Bitcoin to make a lot of money, so they will not care about high fees or slow confirmation times. They want to use it as a store of value. I wouldn't expect this to change anytime soon. At least we know Bitcoin will outlive most "shitcoins". Just keep "hodling" BTC and forget about the rest. 

That's the thing - when would there would a time of need to look at BTC other than the store of value mostly?

[tottong]

My nation just allows exchanges, meaning that we do not really have any legal tender thing, but also it is not really helped if you allow crypto payments. This means, if I sell you one phone, and you pay me in bitcoin, but my phone is broken and you only realize that after you got it, you have no protection, and that's a big trouble. If you bought it with fiat, you would have the courts on your side and you would definitely try to get your money back.

This is why crypto is as far away from currency as it gets here, it is only an asset. But, it is okay to have an asset, they do protect that, as in if an exchange closes shop and runs away with your money, they do chase them, even caught some people who did that so I would say my nation sees it only as an investment, not as a currency.

This is the same case in my country because buying something with bitcoin will not get you protection against broken goods and it will not get you insurance clamps.
With the worst conditions like this, people will definitely not take the risk of buying certain goods using bitcoin because if something unexpected happens, there will never be a return on capital that will be obtained by the buyer.

Bitcoin is not yet a currency like fiat so its current use is more intended for assets so buying something using it is not profitable at all.
I enjoy using bitcoin as an investment asset because it is much more protected in any case compared to using a legal transaction tool.

[hero_the_bossman]

This is the same case in my country because buying something with bitcoin will not get you protection against broken goods and it will not get you insurance clamps.
With the worst conditions like this, people will definitely not take the risk of buying certain goods using bitcoin because if something unexpected happens, there will never be a return on capital that will be obtained by the buyer.

Bitcoin is not yet a currency like fiat so its current use is more intended for assets so buying something using it is not profitable at all.
I enjoy using bitcoin as an investment asset because it is much more protected in any case compared to using a legal transaction tool.

That's why BTC may be used for bigger purchases (where the risks of such cases would be lower), but we still mainly view it in the spotlight and perspective of hodling, because it is tested with time and effort of countless people out there.

[Iranus]

OP is right but no one likes to tell the truth. 99% of those who own Bitcoin today do so only to be able to resell it in the future at a higher price.
The purpose of Bitcoin was to be able to replace fiat money so that it would be free from government and inflation.

Everyone knows what the original purpose of bitcoin was but the problem is that it is easier said than done. Because after all, governments are the ones who control this world, if they don't allow us to use bitcoin as currency then no one will dare to go against them.

If it were you, if you lived in a country where bitcoin was banned, would you have the courage to openly use bitcoin to protest the government ban? I bet you would never dare to do that. So you can't blame people when they use bitcoin as an investment instead of using it for the original purpose it was created for.

[yudi09]

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when you don't have a proper understanding that is when you will struggle because you will want to make random guesses and when it comes to trading you can not depend on that, because you will lose more money than expected.

bitcoin is not a scam for those who understand it it does those who don't understand it and are looking at it to be a scam but it is not like they even care the moment they don't make money then Bitcoin is a scam to them.

Fix. Bitcoin is not a scam and needs to be conveyed to those who equate Bitcoin with crypto clearly.
Also fix that Bitcoin is not an asset that can make people lose money like most people trading in crypto that is not clear where it was created other than to enrich the creator.
I can be responsible to people who think Bitcoin is the same as crypto that ends in fraud that Bitcoin is not as they think.

[Alone055]

This means, if I sell you one phone, and you pay me in bitcoin, but my phone is broken and you only realize that after you got it, you have no protection, and that's a big trouble. If you bought it with fiat, you would have the courts on your side and you would definitely try to get your money back.

What about the other way around? If someone buys a phone from you using fiat, go away with the phone while the phone is in good condition, but later on, you realize that the guy opened a dispute or chargeback against your account from his bank and your funds are now confiscated by your bank and your account is frozen because of the report. The bank will ask you for proof for the payment, and if you don't have a shop, and it was only a private and one-time deal you did with someone random, you are screwed because that guy who opened the dispute will definitely not help you get it removed.

In such cases, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are very useful and beneficial because once a person makes a payment to you and it gets confirmed, they can't do anything about it because you can't do chargebacks or disputes in cryptocurrencies since it goes into the blockchain and can't get taken back.

[Wakate]

BTC  People see Bitcoin as an asset, like gold or stocks.  This is very disappointing because in order for Bitcoin to become a global currency and for banks and governments to be excluded from its control, it should be used as money for transactions and buying and selling, not just as something to buy, hold, and sell when its price goes up.  The current view of Bitcoin is far from Satoshi Nakamoto's original goal. 

You need to understand that the major reason why many people are investing in Bitcoin is to make profits from the market. People are holding Bitcoin because they are expecting the price to go up so that they can take their profits. Apart from using Bitcoin for transactions, Bitcoin has been known to be a profitable cryptocurrency that had been tested and trusted for many years now and had not disappointed us.

As time goes on, we might be surprised to see more Bitcoin investors entering the crypto market so they can make money from the market as they keep holding their portfolio. This is one of the reasons we have been seeing so many firms and big companies buying Bitcoin so they can make profits from it even through its going to take more years to hold.

[BenCodie]

BTC  People see Bitcoin as an asset, like gold or stocks.  This is very disappointing because in order for Bitcoin to become a global currency and for banks and governments to be excluded from its control, it should be used as money for transactions and buying and selling, not just as something to buy, hold, and sell when its price goes up. 

It has been classified as a digital commodity by regulators more than it has been classified as an asset or security, which makes sense to how you have described it. People should see it similar to gold, except with a plethora of digital benefits.

The current view of Bitcoin is far from Satoshi Nakamoto's original goal. 

Things are bound to evolve and take their own form over time, though I am curious as to the basis of that view? While there have been disagreements along the way, a lot of what was in the whitepaper is built or being built today, what part of Bitcoin is so far from Satoshi Nakamoto's goal (asking out of genuine curiosity for your opinion)?

[atookz]

Like Satoshi Nakamoto's initial goal in creating Bitcoin to develop a decentralized peer-to-peer digital money system, I think it is still in line with his initial goal in creating Bitcoin. It is proven that many companies such as Microsoft, PayPal, Overstock, Whole Foods, Etsy, Starbucks, Tesla, etc. use Bitcoin as a means of payment or transaction. And even now the percentage of Bitcoin usage in my opinion tends to increase because one by one companies are starting to accept it as a means of payment.

But because of its high fluctuations and potential to generate profits, it is natural that many people consider Bitcoin as an asset for investment. Just as we can invest by taking advantage of the fluctuations of the dollar, we can also invest by taking advantage of the fluctuations of Bitcoin.

[tbct_mt2]

Like Satoshi Nakamoto's initial goal in creating Bitcoin to develop a decentralized peer-to-peer digital money system, I think it is still in line with his initial goal in creating Bitcoin. It is proven that many companies such as Microsoft, PayPal, Overstock, Whole Foods, Etsy, Starbucks, Tesla, etc. use Bitcoin as a means of payment or transaction. And even now the percentage of Bitcoin usage in my opinion tends to increase because one by one companies are starting to accept it as a means of payment.

But because of its high fluctuations and potential to generate profits, it is natural that many people consider Bitcoin as an asset for investment. Just as we can invest by taking advantage of the fluctuations of the dollar, we can also invest by taking advantage of the fluctuations of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is going to more mainstreams by becoming Legal tender, Legally or at least Allegal in many countries. I believe that in future, number of countries in which Bitcoin is marked as Illegal will decrease considerably.

Bitcoin Spot ETFs since January 2024 is a very big milestone for Bitcoin to nearly mainstream. Bitcoin can be used in many ways because it has many use cases and payment is only one of its use cases. Appearances of institutional investors in this market started years ago but Bitcoin Spot ETFs can boost Bitcoin adoption in institutions more and faster.

It is very helpful to clean up fear in the crowd that Bitcoin is illegal and there will be more merchants that become more friendly with Bitcoin and accept it is one of payment methods for their customers.

[hero_the_bossman]

I totally agree with the topic starter, but there are many ways to use it for business transactions and not just speculate with it. It will take time to adapt to that, but in general, everything will be fine with Bitcoin in the long run.

We are still early to see BTC rise even higher than currently, in all senses 

[inevitableHODL]

The question is... Isn't it betterr this way?

Even some goverments in Europe (for examples Czechia) are about to Invest into this assets... You can still pay with it at some places too

[Abiky]

In such cases, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are very useful and beneficial because once a person makes a payment to you and it gets confirmed, they can't do anything about it because you can't do chargebacks or disputes in cryptocurrencies since it goes into the blockchain and can't get taken back.

Chargebacks would introduce the middleman (third party) into the system. The idea of Bitcoin was to remove the single point of failure. It should be treated as cash. Not as a credit/debit card account. Otherwise, BTC would become centralized.

Satoshi wanted Bitcoin to be used as "Peer to Peer Electronic Cash". But unfortunately, it took a different path. Most people use it as a store of value instead of digital cash. Part of this has to do with market price volatility, and limited transaction capacity. If BTC was the world's standard unit of account and it had ample block space, all of these issues would've been solved. I guess dreams don't come true. At least we know Bitcoin won't be going anywhere. So long as there's 1 node and miner supporting the network, there should be nothing to worry about.

[fikrett]

In such cases, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are very useful and beneficial because once a person makes a payment to you and it gets confirmed, they can't do anything about it because you can't do chargebacks or disputes in cryptocurrencies since it goes into the blockchain and can't get taken back.

Chargebacks would introduce the middleman (third party) into the system. The idea of Bitcoin was to remove the single point of failure. It should be treated as cash. Not as a credit/debit card account. Otherwise, BTC would become centralized.

Satoshi wanted Bitcoin to be used as "Peer to Peer Electronic Cash". But unfortunately, it took a different path. Most people use it as a store of value instead of digital cash. Part of this has to do with market price volatility, and limited transaction capacity. If BTC was the world's standard unit of account and it had ample block space, all of these issues would've been solved. I guess dreams don't come true. At least we know Bitcoin won't be going anywhere. So long as there's 1 node and miner supporting the network, there should be nothing to worry about.

Nobody knows what future brings.

That's why we need to dream higher than what we expect in the end 

[Webetcoins]

People who call bitcoin is a scam, do not even understand how bitcoin works. It's literally just a decentralized currency, nothing more, nobody promised you any profits, it could very well crash and go to zero, nobody guarantees anything. In a scam, you have to enter thinking you are going to profit, and the scammer would steal your money, in here, nobody guarantees any income to you, you make an investment.

It's like saying buying amazon stock is a scam, it is not, you assume you will make a profit, just like bitcoin, and you will probably make a profit too, just like bitcoin, but there is no argument to be made about how you could get zero, because you could get zero and that part matters as well, it's important.

[Ever-young]

The question is... Isn't it betterr this way?

Even some goverments in Europe (for examples Czechia) are about to Invest into this assets... You can still pay with it at some places too

The future is unknown, but it’s very clear that the future of Bitcoin is filled with positivity, unless on countries where Bitcoin have been ban from being used to pay for anything, if not even without government approval citizens in different countries have been using it to make payment for different goods and exchange it for services too, it’s have gone being an asset which some can just store and wait for it to grow in price so that they can take profit.