Bitcoin is not used as money anymore

[BitLex]

Most of the volume is MTG trades :/ I've done thousands of dollars on MTG, but none to buy something

That's just you then, I've bought a bunch of stuff.

i second that, i've bought a bunch of stuff, but didn't do a single trade on MtGox in the last couple of weeks.

Thing is, most of the things you can buy with BTC is overpriced unless you are in the US

again, that's just you,
all depends on how convenient, or unconvenient it is.

i don't care, if i don't get the current MtGox exchange rate, when i buy a domain, or stuff for bitcoins,
because i didn't pay the current MtGox exchange rates for those coins that i buy stuff with.

you might think, that buying stuff for 1BTC costs you $5.75,
i think, is it worth to pay 1BTC, or not? i don't care about the dollar, nor the MtGox rate.

there's stuff i want to have and i want to have it now, can i pay in bitcoins? deal.

different case would be, if you need to buy BTC to buy stuff with them,
that obviously doesn't make much sense right now, you'll have to get dollars online, have to get them into MtGox somehow, have to buy and get BTC out, 'til you finally can buy stuff, that probably would have been cheaper if just bought with USD.

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[Littleshop]

I see that people are not using bitcoin as money anymone. Nobody really buys things with them, most of trades are MtGox trades. Sad, because bitcoin, as well as gold, is intended to be money, not an object for speculation. Because almost everyone has some bitcoins used as a mean to store value.

Anyway, look at this example. A chicken grower sells a chicken for $5. A bitcoin is also equal to $5. This means a chicken = 1 bitcoin. But since USD/BTC ratio is less constant than chicken/USD ratio, nobody will use that coin to buy chicken. They'll sell the coin for dollars, hoping for more than $5. If they'll get $6 for the coin, they can buy the chicken with 5 and also a coke for 1. So what do we do about that?

I bet to differ.  I have been selling stuff for BitCoin more and more each day.  Now sales are starting to be more then mining!  I did need to make my store auto-price for changes in BitCoin value but now my life is much easier.

[marcus_of_augustus]

Imagine you are living in country that is on the gold standard, like USA in 1800's and Switzerland until recently were for example, it is difficult to export anything because your prices relative to the fiat-based neighbours is going up everyday. However, your input costs (imports) are also decreasing at the same rate, so you need to be sharp about passing on decreased costs or else you become un-competitive with the fiat-cousins.

To foreigners visiting Bitcoinland everything seems so damned expensive, although the hookers are really, really attractive ... Also, when you travel outside Bitcoinland and go on a shopping spree in the fiat cousins bazaars your money goes a long way. The economic growth in your country may be steady, even appear slow, but the net wealth of the economy is appreciating mightily on the back of the monetary strength.

Welcome to Bitcoinland.

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

[RodeoX]

The auctions on Biddingpond is a pretty good example IMO. Let's say that I find an auction I'm interested in and I place a reasonable bid and let's say that it goes out 3 weeks later. If you win that auction it can result in that you actually are paying twice the price you were willing to pay in the first place becuase of the jumpy market. This is of course only a problem if you think about the price in USD...

That's a good point, I'm in that position right now as a seller. I don't think I will list anymore month long auctions because it is hard to set postage fees. I do feel somewhat justified in accepting the 8.0BTC postage because it was fair when I listed, and I had downside exposure at listing time.  If bitcoins dropped to .01 then I would be paying the shipping.

[duran]

the reason its not used as currency to its full potential is because the value varies day to day so greatly. even having a feature that keeps its value even with a national currency wouldnt account for value changes that come afterwards. the real obvious market advantages of using bitcoin were also recently discarded on the forum(things that would benefit from anonymity, and untaxable nature) which is currently working as the hub for all bitcoin use.

basicly until the markets more stable theres not enough incentive for merchants and large stores to pick up on it. no one can really say what a bitcoin is worth. as for mtgox trades, bitcoin is amazing from an investment point of view. the fluctuating market and drastic dips and spikes. low cost fees of transfers and trading, unlike other markets.

it will catch on merchant wise and the market will stabilize. just give it time.

[kiba]

it will catch on merchant wise and the market will stabilize. just give it time.

The bitcoin economy will not remain stable if its full potential is to dominate the global economy.

[phelix]

With the bitcoin price rallying like crazy it is am economically bad decision to give it out of hand.

Nobody pays with gold either (because it is too difficult) but it still is worth a lot - bitcoin will be just like that until it stabilizes.

[mewantsbitcoins]

With the bitcoin price rallying like crazy it is am economically bad decision to give it out of hand.
Nobody pays with gold either (because it is too difficult) but it still is worth a lot - bitcoin will be just like that until it stabilizes.

I think there always be markets where people will trade in bitcoin just because it has numerous advantages over other currencies. High volatility is just a minor inconvenience. If you look at the SilkRoad, they already found a way around this

[shooter_mcgavin]

I see that people are not using bitcoin as money anymone. Nobody really buys things with them, most of trades are MtGox trades. Sad, because bitcoin, as well as gold, is intended to be money, not an object for speculation. Because almost everyone has some bitcoins used as a mean to store value.

Anyway, look at this example. A chicken grower sells a chicken for $5. A bitcoin is also equal to $5. This means a chicken = 1 bitcoin. But since USD/BTC ratio is less constant than chicken/USD ratio, nobody will use that coin to buy chicken. They'll sell the coin for dollars, hoping for more than $5. If they'll get $6 for the coin, they can buy the chicken with 5 and also a coke for 1. So what do we do about that?

The value of the BTC is rapidly changing over the past months, as extreme market growth and adoption have skyrocketed price. Venture Capitalists are coming from big name places after hearing about BTC from Forbes, CNN, etc etc. When prices stabilize more, it will naturally start to trade again. People can't keep adjusting prices when the BTC value is so incredibly volatile.

[mewantsbitcoins]

The value of the BTC is rapidly changing over the past months, as extreme market growth and adoption have skyrocketed price. Venture Capitalists are coming from big name places after hearing about BTC from Forbes, CNN, etc etc. When prices stabilize more, it will naturally start to trade again. People can't keep adjusting prices when the BTC value is so incredibly volatile.

They don't have to. This thread is one example of that https://www.bitcoin.org/smf/index.php?topic=6128.0


I just bought a 5870 for bitcoins  This keeps getting better

[shooter_mcgavin]

The value of the BTC is rapidly changing over the past months, as extreme market growth and adoption have skyrocketed price. Venture Capitalists are coming from big name places after hearing about BTC from Forbes, CNN, etc etc. When prices stabilize more, it will naturally start to trade again. People can't keep adjusting prices when the BTC value is so incredibly volatile.

They don't have to. This thread is one example of that https://www.bitcoin.org/smf/index.php?topic=6128.0


I just bought a 5870 for bitcoins  This keeps getting better

Of course, this is the overall market -- there are still transactions made that are a bit more face to face, such as on #bitcoin-otc

[dacoinminster]

Bitcoin price fluctuations are NOT ideal for everyday transactions. That's why I suggested we need to create contracts that allow for the "StableCoin". Read about it here.

[Serge]

According to BitcoinWatch.com there are 468,824.68 BTC changed hands in the past 24hr as of this moment.   Largest exchange, MtGox is around 10% of that volume.

[nster]

According to BitcoinWatch.com there are 468,824.68 BTC changed hands in the past 24hr as of this moment.   Largest exchange, MtGox is around 10% of that volume.

ive sent thousands of bitcoins to different wallets and different other things with making a purchase.... Big BTC owners may be 200~300K of that volume for all we know....

[Sukrim]

most of trades are MtGox trades.

[citation needed]

According to http://bitcoinwatch.com/: Over 1.2 million BTC transfers in the last 24 hours.

~9 blocks per hour generated, ~2/3 of miners are in huge pools (and probably there are more, smaller pools) --> 7200 BTC of pool payout transactions.
MtGox has a volume of ~60k BTC daily, so still the majority of transactions must be something else... only question is what...!

[TradersEdgeDice]

1.2 million? ~15% of the total supply supply of BTC? 

How does that compare to the percentage of USD changing hands?

I'm sure Wachovia knows all about the amount of USD cash changing hands :-)…  But is there an independent source I can look up?