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

[counter]

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 fail to understand why Bitcoin isn't utilizing all of it's features Built into it also.  I think it's a matter of security personally but I don't know.  As for Bitcoin not being useful for the average person, well that is just not the case.  I know people deal with others outside of their country and pay fees to send money or conduct business.  If they used Bitcoin they would likely many things about Bitcoin then they appreciate and not nearly as many things they dislike about it.  Every time I use bitcoin coin I'm amazed by the process and I don't think it is because I'm simple.. heh.  I think it is because I can see it's something new that has uses people haven't even thought about yet just like the internet it is growing and we are learning ways to implement it in our daily lives which takes time.

[qwerty555]

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-

There is a lot going on in the remittance sector...this as always takes time but great strides are being made in certain markets

These are approx eight weeks old..

https://sendmoney.coins.ph/

https://rebit.ph/

as are most of these for Africa

https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=bitcoin+remittance+africa&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=q-oPVPfgD4-CmAKMzIHgDw

and many more in Latin America

https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=bitcoin+remittance+africa&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=q-oPVPfgD4-CmAKMzIHgDw#rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&q=bitcoin+remittance+south+america

As these many start ups gain momentum volumes will explode as it is faster with a serious cost advantage to use bitcoin.

2 Hurdles they are working on are access and confidence of non tech savvy senders/recievers to use the service and Govt regulation which in the US requires a very expensive money transmitter license. I anticipate that these problems will  be solved sooner than later.

[qwerty555]

another huge market is the US and world is the business traveler where savings and ease of use are achieved using a Xapo type bitcoin loaded card when compared to using a traditional card for transactions in foreign currency

Xapo launched only last August and will take a while to sort out teething problems one of which is the log jam in sending the cards out. With $40 M funding they will solve this and allow $millions a day to be spent with this card.Others will surely copy when they catch up.

Once US businesses have confidence in bitcoin as a better option for foreign expenses accounts of employees( corporate response to new technology is frequently slow) they will adopt this method which is billions of dollars a year.

For the average US consumer  that is banked it is likely that bitcoin adoption will gain momentum when it offers either easier use for purchases /payments or substantial savings and this will still take some time, although merchants immediately get advantages from adopting now and may pass on some savings once they have tested it.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237026.

However the unbanked in the US can gain immediate advantage by having access to e-commerce and the choice and savings that offers. There is a tidal wave of adoption coming  take a look at the progress in 12 months.

12 months ago this was the situation

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=759601.msg8593755#msg8593755

and look at in now

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=760705.msg8743663#msg8743663

[BIT-Sharon]

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

What a wonderful parable! Anything derived from countries or continents other than America could not be welcomed by US citizens.

[BJay87]

Yeah, you know why? We got a lot of old people right now. Just wait for the time that when the young ones now (with bitcoin knowledge) will become the old ones tomorrow plus the young ones of tomorrow (with bitcoin knowledge). It will flourish.

[Moneyunmaker]

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

This, we dont need a study to show people is stupid.
We need stupid people to use Bitcoin, just like how they will use iWatch.

[BigGameCAsino]

Yeah, you know why? We got a lot of old people right now. Just wait for the time that when the young ones now (with bitcoin knowledge) will become the old ones tomorrow plus the young ones of tomorrow (with bitcoin knowledge). It will flourish.

What? You mean when the old people are gone and this generation becomes old people in the future and the upcoming human breeds knows about btc then btc will flouorish? Is that right?

[btcforall777]

There were studies done that said the TV would fail, the home pc would never sell, twitter would fail, and one of my favorites the Iphone would fail. So who cares what THEy say.

[giveBTCpls]

The thing is people dont really get Bitcoin and they have been expossed to stuff like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnm4xFC2xNo

which gives them a bad image of it, as something hipster and not really useful at all. We need to put more work into improving these things so when famous Youtube people try to get in touch with BTC, they dont end up frustrated, hindering BTC rep.

[TheWallStreetCrew]

Non of all of thhes studies and nonsense matters anymore. Bitcoin has so much traction it cant be stopped. Waiting for the next buying wave.

[gogxmagog]

The average consumer will be using it without even realizing it if things go right. This is something a paypal type entity will implement. Eg. I fund my account with cc or bank in fiat, conversion to btc happens within payment service, payment moves, fees charged. If it were easy for joe average to buy sell and use btc such a service would be unnecessary but most consumers are not able to do these things or simply afraid they may botch it.

[screwUdriver]

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

This, we dont need a study to show people is stupid.
We need stupid people to use Bitcoin, just like how they will use iWatch.

If we have stupid people using bitcoin then they will be likely to lose their private keys or have their bitcoin stolen which would give it a bad name.

[qwerty555]

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

This, we dont need a study to show people is stupid.
We need stupid people to use Bitcoin, just like how they will use iWatch.

If we have stupid people using bitcoin then they will be likely to lose their private keys or have their bitcoin stolen which would give it a bad name.

To exclude the non tech savvy is to exclude 90% + or the world market and therefore is not practical.

It is more likely, and being implemented now, that the service providers will make it a swipe/scan and pin option the same and therefore with approximately equal security as traditional cards . Xapo has already implemented this for their bitcoin loaded card..They also allege that their wallets/vaults are insured I do not know the terms of that insurance but it is likely that it would be = or better to standard FDIC insurance on bank accounts.This allows them to concentrate on the benefits of bitcoin in order to increase adoption while removing the likely critisism that it would be less secure than traditional fiat cards and accounts.

[gamblethis]

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

This, we dont need a study to show people is stupid.
We need stupid people to use Bitcoin, just like how they will use iWatch.

If we have stupid people using bitcoin then they will be likely to lose their private keys or have their bitcoin stolen which would give it a bad name.

To exclude the non tech savvy is to exclude 90% + or the world market and therefore is not practical.

It is more likely, and being implemented now, that the service providers will make it a swipe/scan and pin option the same and therefore with approximately equal security as traditional cards . Xapo has already implemented this for their bitcoin loaded card..They also allege that their wallets/vaults are insured I do not know the terms of that insurance but it is likely that it would be = or better to standard FDIC insurance on bank accounts.This allows them to concentrate on the benefits of bitcoin in order to increase adoption while removing the likely critisism that it would be less secure than traditional fiat cards and accounts.

So you say that bitcoin is for tech savvy people?

[rockyrotcoin]

How can they purchase it is not readily available for them?

[qwerty555]

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

This, we dont need a study to show people is stupid.
We need stupid people to use Bitcoin, just like how they will use iWatch.

If we have stupid people using bitcoin then they will be likely to lose their private keys or have their bitcoin stolen which would give it a bad name.

To exclude the non tech savvy is to exclude 90% + or the world market and therefore is not practical.

It is more likely, and being implemented now, that the service providers will make it a swipe/scan and pin option the same and therefore with approximately equal security as traditional cards . Xapo has already implemented this for their bitcoin loaded card..They also allege that their wallets/vaults are insured I do not know the terms of that insurance but it is likely that it would be = or better to standard FDIC insurance on bank accounts.This allows them to concentrate on the benefits of bitcoin in order to increase adoption while removing the likely critisism that it would be less secure than traditional fiat cards and accounts.

So you say that bitcoin is for tech savvy people?

Definitely not ..it is for everybody..The general population does not know ( or want to know) how money is transmitted via swift WU etc they just want it in place when they want to use it without too much being deducted for the service..nor do they know much about interchange fees / reverse interchange..merchants fees ( and maybe they should but they dont)
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=736643.msg8324786#msg8324786

Bitcoin will follow a similar path...How do I use it..is it safe  is it easy to use for the things I want to do with it..what does it cost to use?   
After that , how its done is not particularly interesting to the average consumer.

[qwerty555]

How can they purchase it is not readily available for them?

For the average person it was difficult to purchase but now its becoming much easier and within 12 months it will be really easy

http://www.coindesk.com/bitpagos-brings-bitcoin-8000-convenience-stores-ripio/

http://www.coindesk.com/5000-terminals-across-ukraine-now-offer-bitcoin-cash/

http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-atm-map/

https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=sci.ph&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=-EIRVOOaHIeL8Qfc4oCwCA#rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&q=buy+bitcoin+sms

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=437053.msg8756282#msg8756282

https://www.facebook.com/PrepaidBitcoinPH/posts/649981205079337

There are many others ..if you wish to google it

[dankkk]

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

This, we dont need a study to show people is stupid.
We need stupid people to use Bitcoin, just like how they will use iWatch.

If we have stupid people using bitcoin then they will be likely to lose their private keys or have their bitcoin stolen which would give it a bad name.

To exclude the non tech savvy is to exclude 90% + or the world market and therefore is not practical.

It is more likely, and being implemented now, that the service providers will make it a swipe/scan and pin option the same and therefore with approximately equal security as traditional cards . Xapo has already implemented this for their bitcoin loaded card..They also allege that their wallets/vaults are insured I do not know the terms of that insurance but it is likely that it would be = or better to standard FDIC insurance on bank accounts.This allows them to concentrate on the benefits of bitcoin in order to increase adoption while removing the likely critisism that it would be less secure than traditional fiat cards and accounts.

I don't think xapo is the solution to this problem. The fees charged to merchants accepting their cards are likely comparable to credit cards and thus consumers would not see the benefit of using bitcoin. I think circle may be onto something with their concept.

[CraftingTable]

99% has no clue what btc signifies or the current and future state of FIATs.

[Beliathon]

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!

This should clear everything right up. The TL;DR version is that the dollar is essentially a scam currency.