The Biggest Challenges Stopping Bitcoin from Going Mainstream?

[Ambatman]

Bitcoin major challenge is awareness and people understanding what money really is
They are so used to the fact of trusting the government and relying on a degrading fiat
That others starts looking risky.

Price swings, confusing technology, government rules, and environmental concerns all make it harder to adopt.

Confusing technology how? government rules how? It would be nice if you elaborated on these.
On its price swing, I believe you speaking about it's volatility.
Volatility is usually found on young assets even fiat experienced high volatility during the 70's
And the recent was the finanacial crisis of 2008
Which opened many eyes to the need of a decentralized currency.

[Josefjix]

Bitcoin is everywhere in the news, but most people still don’t actually use it in their daily lives. Price swings, confusing technology, government rules, and environmental concerns all make it harder to adopt. Even with all the hype, it’s clear that Bitcoin has some major hurdles before it can become truly mainstream. Is it even possible for Bitcoin to overcome these challenges and become a normal part of everyday life?

For your information, Bitcoin is not looking for any validation to be accepted or to be used to the mainstream or needs any channels to announce on any news. Bitcoin is a solo warrior doing it's things. You love it? it's going mainstream, you don't love it? It's going mainstream. It waits for nobody and does not have any challenges at all.

Sooner or later, what seems to be the challenge bends itself to favor it, because the force and energy behind it is extraordinary. Blackhatcoiner said it's made out of math, which is an idea that serves as a bulletproof.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

Bitcoin is everywhere in the news, but most people still don’t actually use it in their daily lives. Price swings, confusing technology, government rules, and environmental concerns all make it harder to adopt. Even with all the hype, it’s clear that Bitcoin has some major hurdles before it can become truly mainstream. Is it even possible for Bitcoin to overcome these challenges and become a normal part of everyday life?

The only thing I think is holding bitcoin back from becoming a mainstream currency that every one uses for their day to day transactions is the price that is very unstable, I have a friend who runs a big supermarket and has invested quite a large sum in bitcoin, one time we got talking and I asked him why he simply won't start accepting bitcoin payment from his many customers..

He's reponse was that the price is too unstable, that if it's a bad day for Bitcoin, by the time they are done for the day so they can convert back to fiat, he might be losing money because the price of Bitcoin has dropped, that he can't take such risk especially now that those who supply goods to him hasn't started accepting bitcoin payment either..
So personally, I think price instability is the major factor holding bitcoin from getting mainstream adoption as a currency for buying and selling of day to day goods and commodities..

[Satofan44]

The hurdles people attribute to Bitcoin is associating issues from other cryptocurrencies to be the same in Bitcoin, it is an assumption by some persons that all cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin can be shady as they assumed, which leads to lack of knowledge when it comes to understanding Bitcoin specifically.

Again, this is not an issue related to Bitcoin itself. It is an issue of the current individuals that make up our society. We tend to say that education levels have significantly improved as before, as people get worthless papers from high schools and universities. Meanwhile their thinking and actual reasoning skills are very limited.

As far as mainstream is concerned, I think Bitcoin has achieved more than 60%.  Certainly not everyone will use it due to certain gaps in our society.

Nonsense. Bitcoin does not even have a 5% penetration rate, probably not even 1%.

We have so many who don't have access to the internet, or don't even know how to read. Those issues were certainly never meant to be solved.

These people don't need Bitcoin, they have bigger issues. This is not an argument for this topic.

And as for its daily usage, well, a lot of things have since changed after investors realized that it is literally a very good form of investment that can appreciate over a period of time. Maybe this present concept of it's usage in our daily lives is just something that we must accept as the way it is, though it is important that we encourage it.

Holding passively is not daily usage. You don't get to subjectively define daily usage however you want.

Bitcoin major challenge is awareness and people understanding what money really is

Forget that Bitcoin exists for a moment. What percentage of the population of the world understands what money is and how it works? It is probably significantly less than 1%. Do you see now that the issue has nothing to do with Bitcoin itself? Most people who study economics don't know what money is either. They usually just have a brief introductory course and then they are taught the current economic dogma.

[Findingnemo]

The two real challenges why bitcoin is not been accepted as payment, it is highly expensive so people don't see as money but just as an asset so nobody is interested in spending it because we all trying to HODL them as long as possible so we can have the better returns in the future. ANd the confirmation time which is not instant, we have to wait like few minutes to 20, 30 and even longer which depends on the miners finding the blocks and you have enough fee that TX is included in the mined block that make it is not realistic option to pay for your coffee or gasoline but only for big purchases where there is no possibility of reversal once it is confirmed.

[Satofan44]

The two real challenges why bitcoin is not been accepted as payment, it is highly expensive so people don't see as money but just as an asset so nobody is interested in spending it because we all trying to HODL them as long as possible so we can have the better returns in the future.

This is a fallacious error in the brain of such individuals, and not an issue that is inherent to Bitcoin. If the price is high, people complain and see it as an issue. If the price is low, people complain and see it as another issue. There is never going to be a right answer to this because it is subjective. Are you trying to imply here that currencies that have lower value are more commonly accepted as a means of payment? That one is definitely not true.

ANd the confirmation time which is not instant, we have to wait like few minutes to 20, 30 and even longer which depends on the miners finding the blocks and you have enough fee that TX is included in the mined block that make it is not realistic option to pay for your coffee or gasoline but only for big purchases where there is no possibility of reversal once it is confirmed.

This is why we have Lightning. If you need instant transactions, you can do it this way. Ignore any lightning naysayers, they are full of shit and just spreading FUD. I use it regularly for transactions that are bigger than $1000.

[serjent05]

Is it even possible for Bitcoin to overcome these challenges and become a normal part of everyday life?

It is very possible for Bitcoin to overcome these challenges, it just needs a total cooparetion from the community, developers, merchants and the government.  We all know that Bitcoin has shortcoming but there are work around from this shortcomings.  If the community is willing to be flexible and accept without any biased the integration of Bitcoin to centalized services, the so called complex wallet operation of the native bitcoin wallet can be solved into a simple e-wallet where transfer of coins is easier with just one click of a button.

About the volatility, it is really a problem for merchants but the way to solve this is an instant conversion of Bitcoin to fiat to save the value of the payment from fluctuating.  Government should make a clear stand that they accept Bitcoin as mode of payment or what-so-ever to prove its legality so that citizens won't have a wrong idea about Bitcoin being a scam coin and companies that want to take advantage of the profitablitliy of Bitcoin and the service around it has clear stand that they are doing a legit business in terms of government regulations.

[livingfree]

Bitcoin is everywhere in the news, but most people still don’t actually use it in their daily lives.

Do not expect that the entire world is going to use it in the daily basis. But the numbers are growing and we can see it with the adoption. If people are using it for investing, that does mean that it's being used.

Price swings, confusing technology, government rules, and environmental concerns all make it harder to adopt. Even with all the hype, it’s clear that Bitcoin has some major hurdles before it can become truly mainstream. Is it even possible for Bitcoin to overcome these challenges and become a normal part of everyday life?

I don't see that it's with a confusing technology. If it does, then other projects won't adopt blockchain which is the technology behind it.

With the environmental concerns, it's always thrown to Bitcoin with that kind of argument because of the mining farms. People need to be better and look at the other industries where they're making air pollution with the manufacturing and plantation that they have.

[Botnake]

I believe for us bitcoiners, there's no problem when it comes to bitcoin and using it as an investment tool or as a currency. However for those who are still unfamiliar of bitcoin,  they will find it hard believing that bitcoin will turn into a daily currency because for obvious reason, the government is strongly opposing the technology brought by bitcoin. And that proves the strict regulations set by the government for bitcoin, which most of us have find it a big challenge for bitcoin adoption, to the extent thinking if we really need to have bitcoin adoption in the future or settle to the current condition of bitcoin.

[Yamifoud]

I think that's not actually the very goal of trading becoming a legal tender, but what Satoshi only want is to make bitcoin a reserved currency of fiat, which means it will only serve as a payment option, not as an official legal tender. And I have seen we are already doing it now through some selected merchants or shops. No need to put bitcoin in the position where the government will be the biggest enemy, because bitcoin cannot beat the government, and besides, we don't need the government to continue bitcoin existence.

[EFS]

Bitcoin is already mainstream. Most of us have been actively using Bitcoin for more than 10 years. According to the technology adoption curve, we are the early adopters and Bitcoin is part of our daily lives. But that phase is over. Now everyone knows about Bitcoin. Traditional financial news outlets display Bitcoin's price and report on it. Signing up for an exchange and buying Bitcoin is very easy and people are doing it. Maybe not everyone understands the technical details of Bitcoin, but that's the case with any technology. You don't need to master all the technical aspects to be able to use something.

[tabas]

Is it even possible for Bitcoin to overcome these challenges and become a normal part of everyday life?

Yeah, it did and able to survive it and so to no question if it's doable for bitcoin or not. That is because it has went through a lot of rough times for so many years. Breaking the taboos and the challenges about the FUD, the doubt of the people if it's going to be good in the mainstream. Now, what we're only seeing is the fruit of its survival in the past. And the world has welcomed it warmly and now in the mainstream. So, that's the reason why it's now adopted by financial institutions, governments have the go signal for them to step on it and explore more of it as an option to invest and later on will be about its usage as an alternative payment system.

[Taskford]

Bitcoin is already mainstream. Most of us have been actively using Bitcoin for more than 10 years. According to the technology adoption curve, we are the early adopters and Bitcoin is part of our daily lives. But that phase is over. Now everyone knows about Bitcoin. Traditional financial news outlets display Bitcoin's price and report on it. Signing up for an exchange and buying Bitcoin is very easy and people are doing it. Maybe not everyone understands the technical details of Bitcoin, but that's the case with any technology. You don't need to master all the technical aspects to be able to use something.

I also don't know why they think about it didn't reach on the mainstream while the fact that we already see lots of recognition and other news posted by media about Bitcoin.

Lot of things happen from Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, Merchants accept Bitcoin as means of payment to other good news happening with that we can say that lot of good things happen on Bitcoin. Also its easy to buy Bitcoin everywhere now and people had an access to bought their own Bitcoin and start their investment.

Maybe there just people don't know the technology exist yet because they are not so techy but for sure we would reach on level that lots of people in the world would use Bitcoin. We really don't need to be master on technical aspects since Bitcoin is somehow easy to understand especially for those people willing to research and interested to use it for whatever things they like.

[NewRanger]

Bitcoin is everywhere in the news, but most people still don’t actually use it in their daily lives. Price swings, confusing technology, government rules, and environmental concerns all make it harder to adopt. Even with all the hype, it’s clear that Bitcoin has some major hurdles before it can become truly mainstream. Is it even possible for Bitcoin to overcome these challenges and become a normal part of everyday life?

Bitcoin is no longer a foreign commodity. Several cryptocurrencies have already surpassed the price of gold, and people are starting to consider it a good investment, with many providing significant returns for investors.

Even now, its price is still in a consolidation phase, and other future benefits of BTC are extraordinary. It's possible that governments will be busy educating the public about how to use it that when it's a fully crypto-based financial payment mechanism.

This will change people's perspectives, and BTC will no longer be an alternative. For example, countries with high inflation like Argentina and Turkey may improve, allowing BTC to become the primary alternative. But when it becomes a necessity, there will no longer be a mainstream purchase of BTC to anticipate these challenges; it will become something that will be used daily to overcome these challenges and become a normal part of everyday life, as mentioned above.

[ThemePen]

Yes despite it being always in news but most of people do not use it in their daily lives because there are big challenges such as changing prices,  confusing technology, and government rules. Answer to this question as to whether Bitcoin can become normal is Yes, though only with second layer tools that run on top of it, like stablecoins to stop price changes and Lightning Network to let quick and cheap deals and as bigger businesses start using Bitcoin, governments have to make more clear rules, which makes whole system more trusted.

[CryptoBuds]

Yes despite it being always in news but most of people do not use it in their daily lives because there are big challenges such as changing prices,  confusing technology, and government rules. Answer to this question as to whether Bitcoin can become normal is Yes, though only with second layer tools that run on top of it, like stablecoins to stop price changes and Lightning Network to let quick and cheap deals and as bigger businesses start using Bitcoin, governments have to make more clear rules, which makes whole system more trusted.

I think otherwise, unless the government issues clear regulations and allows people to use bitcoin as a means of payment. Only then will large businesses dare to start adopting and using bitcoin. Businesses and businessperson must comply with and be governed by the law, not the other way around. That is why there are not many stores in your country or mine, or globally that accept bitcoin. Most people are waiting for the government to come up with clearer regulations on bitcoin.

Overall, there are many barriers keeping bitcoin from becoming mainstream but I think the government is probably the biggest barrier.

[tottong]

Bitcoin is everywhere in the news, but most people still don’t actually use it in their daily lives. Price swings, confusing technology, government rules, and environmental concerns all make it harder to adopt. Even with all the hype, it’s clear that Bitcoin has some major hurdles before it can become truly mainstream. Is it even possible for Bitcoin to overcome these challenges and become a normal part of everyday life?

You're wrong on one point, because Bitcoin's journey hasn't been influenced by hype like other junk coins. Bitcoin is far more fundamental and possesses a different level of power.
Bitcoin isn't used as a regular currency because of the legal principles in each country where it resides. In my country, for example, it only allows the use of Bitcoin as an investment asset and makes it completely impossible to use it for legitimate transactions.
If you look at more concrete sources, Bitcoin adoption is experiencing a significant increase worldwide, and this is happening faster than expected.

If the question is about solving normal daily life problems, I can probably say it's impossible, because my country only allows the use of Bitcoin for investment purposes.
So the most relevant use is to carry out investments as usual as we do now.

[Plaguedeath]

Another nonsense post. Pretty much no online merchant in the whole world accepts the currency of your shithole country. They accept debit or credit cards which are an intermediary layer for fiat, they are not the fiat themselves. Similarly, you can already use cards which are funded by Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Your argument does not stand.

Well it's true, but online merchant isn't the main source how people spent their money.

I'm talking about offline merchant, people buy their daily needs, pay electricity bills and buy urgent stuffs from offline merchant, they won't want to wait for few days to get their stuffs.

Illustration in my experience, if purchase using cash 200x times, I might buy stuff using online merchant in my country 20-30x times, then the last I might only use 1x international payment.

This mean, I might use Bitcoin 1x time while I use fiat 220x-230x times.

[aoluain]

Bitcoin is everywhere in the news, but most people still don’t actually use it in their daily lives. Price swings, confusing technology, government rules, and environmental concerns all make it harder to adopt. Even with all the hype, it’s clear that Bitcoin has some major hurdles before it can become truly mainstream. Is it even possible for Bitcoin to overcome these challenges and become a normal part of everyday life?

Everywhere in the news? not in my country.

How exactly does the OP want everyone to use it everyday I wonder?

The FIAT system is the standard monetary system in the world and its systems
are designed to make things convenient for everyone while they siphon off massive
profits from everyone.

but the general public know this but continue to use it because its convenient
to use. Switching to Bitcoin is not straight forward, wages are paid in FIAT,
so that has to be sent to an exchange to convert to Bitcoin - then what?
You want to buy a coffee, you have to convert the Bitcoin back to FIAT,
whats the point?

Until Bitcoin is widely accepted as payment it wont be used daily as FIAT is
and there is a long way to go yet.

Things have improved though, take the digital banks in Europe like Revolut, N26
and Bunq - they all provide an avenue to "invest", "save" in Crypto. So Crypto and
most importantly Bitcoin is becoming more normalised for people. Its seen
less now as solely a tool for criminals.

[Cryptohygenic]

Bitcoin is everywhere in the news, but most people still don’t actually use it in their daily lives. Price swings, confusing technology, government rules, and environmental concerns all make it harder to adopt. Even with all the hype, it’s clear that Bitcoin has some major hurdles before it can become truly mainstream. Is it even possible for Bitcoin to overcome these challenges and become a normal part of everyday life?

I don't like it when false hope is given especially with analysts speculations about bitcoin price instead, I rely on the 4 years market events. Following this that bitcoin is decentlized and even if regulations makes their policies friendly, it would still be at the risk of individuals because the risk surrounding bitcoin could be detrimental.
The governments can not also afford to mainstream bitcoin adoption because, they also cares about the traditional system of which, when bitcoin is massively adopted, individuals might tend to gap the use of the fiats because, the use case of bitcoin and blockchain is incomparable to the banks for those who are friendly with the technology.
But nomatter how bitcoin maybe mainstream, it is still not everyone will use it.