Study shows majority of U.S. consumers ‘unlikely’ to purchase and use bitcoin

[dankkk]

i agree that bitcoin doesn't really bring anything of interest to the average person.. which is why i don't like the internet comparisons. the internet became so huge because it provided something unique that people actually wanted.

The thing of interest that bitcoin will have to the "average person" is the lower cost of using it verses other payment methods. You can send money to anyone in the world more or less instantly for what is essentially free. There is not any other way of doing this.

True that remittances (what you refer to above) are Bitcoins strong suit.   Yet shockingly, nobody is doing a damn thing to get the Bitcoin remittances market going.  Aside from ( I suppose) Robocoin, which says it has a remittances tool on the way.   Quite a few people are dissatisfied with the Robocoin kiosks, the insane "spread" from buy to sell being put on them by the greedy ATM owners, and of course the complete lack of privacy.  This article however is most likely referencing consumer adoption locally for buying and selling.

-B-

I don't think robocoin ATMs are so much a way for remittance but rather a way for people to buy and sell bitcoin conveniently.

The companies that are promoting people actually buying items with bitcoin (commerce) are mainly coinbase and bitpay. Coinbase has a feature that allows companies to offer a discount of up to 25% at the shopping cart level for customers paying with bitcoin, although I don't think many merchants are taking up this offer.

[Possum577]

I've been trying to get family and friends interested in Bitcoin by saying I'll accept Bitcoin when they owe me money. I also explain how easy it is and I can walk them through the process, however to this date (over a year now) no one has taken me up on the offer.

The opportunity for widespread usage is being helped by retailer's accepting payment in BTC, it's like "if you build they will come"...now we as users just need to talk about with our friends and family, let them know that it's not as strange and complicated and sketchy as people may think.

[Beliathon]

translation: study shows majority of US consumers doesnt know how fiat really works.

Or more simply: Study shows majority of U.S. consumers are morons.

Related: Nearly 8 in 10 americans believe in angels.

I believe George Carlin said it best.

[Keyara]

translation: study shows majority of US consumers doesnt know how fiat really works.

Fiat and credit card are still the most convenient form of medium.

And given that most people know goverment agencies are spying on them, they would be hesitate to use any thing that is "modern" and connected to the internet.

[SF-Man]

Of course, they need more serious education about it.

[jbreher]

i agree that bitcoin doesn't really bring anything of interest to the average person.. which is why i don't like the internet comparisons. the internet became so huge because it provided something unique that people actually wanted.

Disagree. Each incremental accretion of new service on the internet was something that most people didn't even imagine a use for until they experienced it for themselves.

[BrunesBTC45]

That is because they lack education about bitcoin..That is the main problem. People's doesnt know anything about btc. And because of this, people who do know gets bored and then stops using it.

[Jamie_Boulder]

Well that's obvious. In 2010 it would have been less people... and in 2016 as adoption grows there will be more people... an interesting study/forecast into long term consumer choice about Bitcoin would be largely speculative and incredibly complex but more useful.

Couldn't have said it better myself, pretty sure majority of U.S consumers don't use paypal/moneypak/libertyreserve etc either.

[First.Bitcoins]

There is one step that is known to make it more "likely" that a U.S. consumer will purchase and use Bitcoins.

• Motivate them to download a Bitcoin wallet.

"I don't want to download anything to my PC, it could have a virus". Surprisingly this is the number one objection we get from new users.

So in the altcoin I founded (in sig if interested), we have created a simple two step process to get them started:

1. Sign up for the online wallet (less scary for them)
2. Go to our faucet for some coins to get started.

Once they do that, they are curious, so on our forum they can find places to spend their coins, and can later download the full wallet to mine, etc.

I think that strategy is what we need to do with bitcoin as well.
You can read more on what is like building a user community on my post: bitcointalk.org - Re: How we crypto-geeks get it wrong & the reality of altcoin success

[TippingPoint]

I believe that sports betting has the potential to greatly increase the use of Bitcoin among U.S. consumers.

And I have never placed a sports bet.

[Blinken]

When I read crap like this I immediately go out and buy more bitcoins.

I remember back in 1992 reading articles written by idiots like this stating that the internet was too compicated and technical for the average person and would never get widespread usage outside of academia.

The only difference is that back then I was too stupid to invest in the internet.

Want to hear a funny story? Around 1991 I noticed that you could register domain names by filling out a paper form and mailing it to Internic. There was no charge. Back then nobody had domain names except universities. So, I thought maybe I should register my own name for laughs. Then, I thought, while I am at it, why don't I print out a 100 forms and register the names of every big corporation and every really famous person in the country for giggles. Man, if I had got off my duff and done that I would have made millions.

[bitcoinanon]

translation: study shows majority of US consumers doesnt know how fiat really works.

Doh! Where do dollars come from? I think less than 10% is in tangible notes. The plastic cards are capable of reproducing pseudo-dollars or something and then there is fractional reserve banking, oh the humanity!

[TaunSew]

translation: study shows majority of US consumers doesnt know how fiat really works.

Doh! Where do dollars come from? I think less than 10% is in tangible notes. The plastic cards are capable of reproducing pseudo-dollars or something and then there is fractional reserve banking, oh the humanity!

An estimation for the M0 (which is tangible notes) is only about $1.2 trillion or $4000 per each person in the United States.

Most of the money at this point is all digital money / fractional reserve which is not backed by anything tangible and can be created out of thin air, much to the delight of the banking class.

The credit / debit card is a genius innovation as the banks essentially took your tangible notes and gave you made up digital money in return.  If the whole digital banking system were to collapse then the banks would be a better position than most people, as they're the ones with most of the tangible notes and presumably have bullion reserves.


 Yes digital currencies are also digital but, instead of trusting some banker with ulterior motives, you are trusting the public ledger and the mathematical algorithms.

[jbrnt]

I think the study is correct. Most people have no incentive to buy and use bitcoin NOW. Things will change, more merchants will accept bitcoin, greater savings when using bitcoin, or less friction when purchasing bitcoin... In time, people will change from "unlikely" to "likely".

[Bit_Happy]

translation: study shows majority of US consumers doesnt know how fiat really works.

We prefer NFL football, beer, and pizza: Let the rest of the world play with real money. 

[ThomasCrowne]

Study Schmuddy!  It's obvious this avalanche of merchant adoption, tidal wave of bitcoin ATM's, and countless new Bitcoin based services being added literally every day it's basically game over barring some cataclysmic event with the blockchain or something.  Besides, whether or not US citizens decide to jump on the bandwagon early or late one thing is for sure, they will jump on eventually.

[Prez]

No point.

[Bitcoinpro]

Just like the older folks where never going to use FB and Smart Phones

WRONG

[leannemckim46]

translation: study shows majority of US consumers doesnt know how fiat really works.

Doh! Where do dollars come from? I think less than 10% is in tangible notes. The plastic cards are capable of reproducing pseudo-dollars or something and then there is fractional reserve banking, oh the humanity!

Not using tangible notes and instead using credit cards, bank transfers and checks only reduce the cost of spending money. Cash fiat is very expensive to move (it is very heavy and the trucks that you move it in are heavy and expensive). The sorting and counting of cash is also time consuming (and thus expensive).

[slaveforanunnak1]

Meh... Derp is gonna derp. Eventually they will figure it out.