Are we really using crypto as a currency... or just holding it like digital gold

[NAM3C_tv]

I’ve been working on an idea for a platform — basically an Amazon-style marketplace where you can buy anything using crypto. Not just NFTs, but actual everyday products.

While building it, I ran into a fundamental question:

💬 Are people even interested in spending their crypto?

Most of us say we believe in the future of decentralized money. But when it comes down to it, we treat Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other tokens like long-term investments — not as actual currencies for day-to-day spending.

So I wanted to ask the community directly:

👉 Do you personally see crypto more as:

A long-term store of value (something to hold)?

A real alternative currency (something to use)?

And if you don’t spend your crypto — what would it take to make you start?

I'm not here to shill a project. Genuinely just curious — this question has shaped how I approach the product I'm building.


If anyone’s interested, you can check out the beta version here:

Beta access: https://bitcunia.com/ ( No email required )



I’d really appreciate any feedback — even a quick thought helps a lot as we shape the platform around what real crypto users actually want.

[The Cryptovator]

Bitcoin transaction fees are the main prevention to use it as currency. But still, many sites have been accepting crypto, and a lot of users are using it as a payment method as well. I have been using Bitcoin to make payments for NameCheap when I have been buying domain hosting for my clients. Because it's related to privacy, and I always prefer to use Bitcoin for payment.

I think similar sites exist that you are interested in building, though I can't recall the name exactly. But still, your idea is good; sometimes people like to prevent their privacy and enjoy their financial freedoms. It's true most of the people are just interested in holding crypto so they can make money from that. Very few people consider Bitcoin as a payment method; actually, this was the goal of Bitcoin. I will encourage you to continue your project.

[Franctoshi]

I don't know if Bitcoin transaction fees would ever go down more lower than what we've seen it before because that's exactly the barrier that holds majority of people back to consider it as a full means of payment option. currently people view it more as a store of value and a hedge against inflation,  maybe with time the high cost of its transaction may no longer be an issue in the future, because Bitcoin is still evolving and we're yet to witness it's benefits to the fullest.

[thecodebear]

Bitcoin will eventually be used as a currency, but because it is still early in its adoption it makes sense that people would rather hold it for the wealth accumulation rather than spend it.

Eventually when it is widely adopted and no longer jumping up 50% or whatever in any given year, and once people have a lot of it as savings, people will spend it, because naturally the point of savings is to save for something to spend on.

But for that to happen we need merchant adoption, tax laws that give exemptions to Bitcoin purchases so buying stuff isn't a tax accounting headache, and wide proliferation of LN and/or other second/third layer solutions. But these things will likely only be prompted once adoption starts getting widespread enough for there to actually be a mass of people ready to spend their Bitcoin.

This'll probably take a couple decades to really start to come together and start becoming a thing people do outside of small local Bitcoin hot zones around the world. It is natural that spending Bitcoin is the last phase of adoption, because it has to be already widely adopted before it makes sense to do those three things mentioned above that allow regular spending with it.


Crypto is useless and will play no part in this other than perhaps stablecoins. But the above is the future of Bitcoin.

[Ndabagi01]

A long-term store of value (something to hold)?

This is what many people see bitcoin and other crypto asset as, and that’s what has brought about increased interest in cryptocurrency lately and not for the reason it was invented for. Another reason why people see it more as a store of value is because of the high cost of transaction fees while using it on a day to day activity rather than holding it for the long time and only use or spend it once when the profit target is reached.

A real alternative currency (something to use)?

This was its purpose of invention but as it stands now, people are more satisfactorily joining it because of the secondary benefit it provide. We may see this is happening because Bitcoin is still in its adoption phase but in the future it’ll commence to be used more for what it was invented for.

[Stalker22]

I have used Bitcoin to buy stuff before, even though most people seem to just be holding it as an investment these days.  When Bitcoin first came out, it was meant to be used like regular money to pay for goods and services.  But now, hardly anyone actually uses it that way.  They just buy it hoping to get rich when the price goes up

as for me yeah, Ive bought a couple things with Bitcoin in the past.  I dont do it too often because sometimes the fees can get pretty high.  But a while back I got a gift card to Amazon using Bitcoin and that worked out nicely.  The whole process was smooth.  So Ill probably try paying with crypto again if the opportunity comes up.  Even if Bitcoin isnt really being used as a currency now, I still think the technology has a lot of potential in the future of finance and payments.

[Ever-young]

Personally in the country where I’m from it’s easy to make any purpose of something using my local currency than using any other form of payment, I have not really seen need for me to make payment with crypto in anything which is the reason why I only own crypto because I hold it like an asset and treat it as something of value, the only time I prefer to make payment with crypto is if I want to buy something on international stores where the charges might be too high to pay with my local card if they accept crypto that’s the only time I usually pay with crypto and for gambling funding too.

[Ojima-ojo]

Personally in the country where I’m from it’s easy to make any purpose of something using my local currency than using any other form of payment, I have not really seen need for me to make payment with crypto in anything which is the reason why I only own crypto because I hold it like an asset and treat it as something of value, the only time I prefer to make payment with crypto is if I want to buy something on international stores where the charges might be too high to pay with my local card if they accept crypto that’s the only time I usually pay with crypto and for gambling funding too.

Bitcoin scalability have been on the low key, because of some regulatory limitations on it active usage as a currency, although in few online stores Bitcoin can be used to pay for Internet data and a few other services that allows Bitcoin payments but their are not all that popular in my region since we can easily exchange Bitcoin into local currency and use it to pay for all goods and services.


So directly or indirectly we used Bitcoin as a currency but higher numbers of Bitcoin holders prefer a d see Bitcoin as a digital gold and an assets.

[red4slash]

Now, everything is flexible when it comes to bitcoin because ultimately we can use this as an asset for long-term value storage or use this as a means of payment because of its flexible nature bitcoin can easily be used for any purpose we want.

I personally still make bitcoin as an asset for long-term value storage because I still consider bitcoin as a hedge against financial inflation so that in the end I will certainly save and make this a future investment especially in the country I live in now bitcoin is still not used as legal tender so there is no reason to violate regulations by imposing a will that will ultimately harm myself.
I am quite comfortable with my choice where I will still continue to make this a long-term investment even though it cannot be denied that in the end there may be an opportunity someday I will make this as a means of payment but until now I still remain with my first option where this is used as a future investment.

[rodskee]

While building it, I ran into a fundamental question:

💬 Are people even interested in spending their crypto?

it depends on what will you be selling lol i do not think anyone would be interested to buy a toilet paper using their bitcoins

👉 Do you personally see crypto more as:

A long-term store of value (something to hold)?

A real alternative currency (something to use)?

i do see bitcoin specifically right now as a store of value as i use it to keep my money protected from inflation and hopefully get profit in the process but i could spend my bitcoin if there is something important enough for me to spend it on

[I_Anime]

Yeah there some companies that do accept bitcoin for payment too , but folks prefer holding because they believe in a long run it will continue to grow making it a token full with potential, imagine having a valuable asset and you believe that same asset have the potential to be far better than it is now as time goes will spend such ? Nah you won't rather you will find ways to have more of that asset.

But bitcoin and other coin still a currency, but can also act as an investment also due to price fluctuation and growth.

[AmoreJaz]

I have used Bitcoin to buy stuff before, even though most people seem to just be holding it as an investment these days.  When Bitcoin first came out, it was meant to be used like regular money to pay for goods and services.  But now, hardly anyone actually uses it that way.  They just buy it hoping to get rich when the price goes up

as for me yeah, Ive bought a couple things with Bitcoin in the past.  I dont do it too often because sometimes the fees can get pretty high.  But a while back I got a gift card to Amazon using Bitcoin and that worked out nicely.  The whole process was smooth.  So Ill probably try paying with crypto again if the opportunity comes up.  Even if Bitcoin isnt really being used as a currency now, I still think the technology has a lot of potential in the future of finance and payments.

For a time, I also used btc as online payment method. However, the exchange rate is quite low than the regular exchange rate. Thus, you will end up like selling it at a cheaper rate. Much better to convert it to your fiat and just pay using your fiat. Some third party platforms are charging high fees that you will opt for other options instead. This is why, up until now, it is still better to pay using fiat as the fees are quite high, it is not practical to use such route. Thus, many are just holding their crypto for potential investments and not really for payment purposes. Maybe, if the fees are quite competitive as well as the exchange rate. But for now, we can see that it is still better to hold it rather than use it for regular online payment.

[Natalim]

Frankly speaking, majority just want to hold their coins and wait until bitcoin price reaches an impressive amount, and eventually sell for profits, and then reinvest again.

However, when it comes to spending crypto, the fact that transaction fees are going crazy right now, I don't think people will love to do it. Maybe in the future, when it's no longer a barrier, and when bitcoin has already been accepted in all shops and department stores to buy daily goods and services.

[Stalker22]

For a time, I also used btc as online payment method. However, the exchange rate is quite low than the regular exchange rate. Thus, you will end up like selling it at a cheaper rate. Much better to convert it to your fiat and just pay using your fiat. Some third party platforms are charging high fees that you will opt for other options instead.

Well... sometimes it is, but not always. Plus, there are other reasons people choose crypto for online payments. Maybe its about privacy, or avoiding traditional banking fees... Its not always just about getting the absolute best real-time exchange rate for every single transaction. But I agree that some third-party platforms and payment processors have unfavorable exchange rates and charge unfair fees. So you should be careful.

[JiiBs]

💬 Are people even interested in spending their crypto?

Most of us say we believe in the future of decentralized money. But when it comes down to it, we treat Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other tokens like long-term investments — not as actual currencies for day-to-day spending.

So I wanted to ask the community directly:

👉 Do you personally see crypto more as:

A long-term store of value (something to hold)?

A real alternative currency (something to use)?

And if you don’t spend your crypto — what would it take to make you start?

I'm not here to shill a project. Genuinely just curious — this question has shaped how I approach the product I'm building.

You are not wrong in your assertions of the currency. At the moment, you wouldn’t find many Bitcoin enthusiasts out there that are ready and willing to spend their Bitcoin like an everyday currency.

Either we like it or not, it’s not a normal currency and I say that without giving any attention to its form.
Our regular fiat is subject to inflation, it can’t serve as an asset. Bitcoin can and as such, you wouldn’t expect Bitcoin investors to just go about spending their precious Bitcoins at this time. For all we know, you could be accepting them with the sole purpose of holding too.

That means no one wants to miss out, not even you!

[Darker45]

As far as my observation is concerned, people are indeed treating Bitcoin as a long-term investment rather than a day-to-day currency. Can't blame them. Can't blame us. With how fast Bitcoin's value is appreciating, it seems it's worth keeping than spending. And with how fast fiat is degrading in value, it will have to be spent first or invested in something that stores value, like Bitcoin.

I used to spend Bitcoin paying pills and buying prepaid mobile data and whatnot via a local wallet. I realized it's more or less pointless. The wallet is operated by a centralized company, custodial, requires KYC, registers Bitcoin transactions in fiat, and so on. I was using a decentralized currency in a centralized manner. What's the point?

I'd be compelled to spend my Bitcoin if there's a Bitcoin-only business that I can't refuse to drop by. What it is, I still don't know.

[Smack That Ace]

A real alternative currency (something to use)?

This was its purpose of invention but as it stands now, people are more satisfactorily joining it because of the secondary benefit it provide. We may see this is happening because Bitcoin is still in its adoption phase but in the future it’ll commence to be used more for what it was invented for.

Yes, mass adoption of bitcoin is still happening. But honestly, I see no signs that it is being used for the original purpose for which it was invented.

Bitcoin is becoming increasingly popular and widely accepted, but the truth is that it is being promoted as an investment and people are accepting it that way. Even investors like us have no intention of using bitcoin as a currency, how can we expect new participants to see it that way?

High transaction fees, volatile prices or illegality…all are just excuses, the real reason we don’t use bitcoin as currency is because we don’t want to. Everyone wants to hold to earn profit and get rich, no one wants to spend bitcoin unnecessarily.

[Luzin]

And if you don’t spend your crypto — what would it take to make you start?

I'm not here to shill a project. Genuinely just curious — this question has shaped how I approach the product I'm building.

I prefer Crypto is a long-term asset. This means that crypto serves as an asset that will continue to fluctuate upwards. So I prefer crypto to improve my family's economic condition. I think right now users are more happy because of the value not the usability. So this condition makes users try to increase the amount of Bitcoin. They will spend it if they are forced to. Even now I don't expect Bitcoin as a currency. I just hope Bitcoin has official recognition, clear rules, so that we have a sense of security and comfort to move in the crypto industry.

[X-ray]

Instead of creating market place it's better if you can help integrate with existing market place.

There has been the same effort of trying to create market place that cater to crypto users but it always falls short in term of userbase and products listing, the thing is, we need to connect to the existing web2 e-commerce so that we can use bitcoin anywhere.

I've heard apple pay is starting to integrate bitcoin, but as of now, I think the most successful implementation of bitcoin for daily usage is crypto debit card. Although it uses middle man, but it simplify purchasing thing with bitcoin. But of course it'd be great if we can use bitcoin directly and i'm really waiting for it.

[PrivacyG]

While building it, I ran into a fundamental question:

💬 Are people even interested in spending their crypto?

Yes.  Indeed they are.  But this does not mean they will ALWAYS spend their Cryptocurrencies.

One thing you should note is that the Bitcoin market is not very stable and rarely enters bull runs.  Although bull runs have historically been highly profitable, them being a relatively rare occurrence means people will likely spend only then while finding themselves in an accumulation or recovery stage during the rest of the time.

Altcoins are even worse.  Most of them at least.  Compared to Bitcoin, they rarely produce more profit during the longer term.  However, many of them are what I would call 'one time risers'.  They rise only once but by an incredible percentage, then they fall and collapse while all the investors who put their money during the spike are wrecked.

If I put 100 dollars in Bitcoin and it becomes only 90 dollars in a matter of an year due to the Bitcoin being in a relatively bearish market, I would obviously rather not spend it.  If it then spikes from 90 to 500, I may decide to finally buy the new product I kept waiting to afford.

But if I put 100 dollars in an Altcoin, it often either becomes almost nothing, it becomes worth less or there are extremely rare occurrences where you find yourself in the middle of a one time riser during its spike.  It can become 1000 dollars in a week, or a day even.

However.  Keep one thing in your mind.  A lot of people never really spend because they see how much they made, 100 to 1000 or 90 to 500 in a really short time span and they think this is their time to become rich.  And at the end of this waiting, they find themselves now only owning 180 instead of 500 in Bitcoin or 80 instead of 1000 in Altcoins.  So they wait, hoping to recover their paper loss.  And it often never happens, so they sell.  And so on.

To end the story time quicker, while we do intend to spend our Cryptocurrencies, we are often emotionally and mentally stuck not knowing what to do next and realistically speaking, you can not and should not expect a VERY large volume on a Cryptocurrency shopping platform.  Business wise, it may be a good idea to integrate Fiat as a payment method as well.  Maybe allow customers to pay partially in Cryptocurrency and the rest in Fiat even.  I rather see a platform that succeeds with both methods integrated than yet another platform that shuts down after an year of operation due to a lack of volume or interest.