What are some ways you can think bitcoin won't succeed?

[Monetizer]

I was just thinking in my head about bitcoin and it's chances of succeeding of a major worldwide currency. I thought back to here about how many posts there are with bitcoin's success, what are some ways you can think of that will make bitcoin Not succeed. The most obvious in my opinion being a hack of some sort to the blockchain.

[coinableS]

It's 2023 and coinbase has tradmarked "to the moon". 90%+ of all transactions are handled by coinbase since they make it easy for non-tech people. They are the facebook of the digital currency world. They will only process payments on whitelisted addresses. If you are traced to anything outside their terms of service the will close your account. By 2025 everyone has been banned by coinbase for small infractions and bitcoin is marked a failure.

[Cthulhu]

I guess some of the problems will eventually be solved, like usability and security for the average joe, insured exchanges and custodians also already happening.

I can only think of regulation and fraud, that can really stifle bitcoin's adoption.

[ebliever]

I was just thinking in my head about bitcoin and it's chances of succeeding of a major worldwide currency. I thought back to here about how many posts there are with bitcoin's success, what are some ways you can think of that will make bitcoin Not succeed. The most obvious in my opinion being a hack of some sort to the blockchain.

I think the only thing that would really stymie it long term would be intractable problems with security and accidental loss due to bitcoin being decentralized, with no central authority to appeal to when you lose your passwords/wallets, or to secure your funds for you if you don't do a good job yourself. We've seen a heavy toll from hackers and scammers targeting bitcoins the past few years. I don't think that will continue unabated due to improvements in security in wallets and exchanges and increased security competency in leading bitcoin businesses. But if I'm wrong, the continued losses to theft could discourage enough core bitcoiners that it begins to dwindle.

That's really the one thing I realistically see stopping bitcoin from carving out at least a substantial niche in world finance. Other factors limiting its growth would be ease-of-use limitations with the software being developed for it, but those are being overcome little by little every day, and I don't see them as intractable. Even if you never could buy coffee at Starbucks with bitcoin as conveniently as with a credit card, it's already simple and easy to use for major financial uses from online purchases to buying real estate.

[ebliever]

It's 2023 and coinbase has tradmarked "to the moon". 90%+ of all transactions are handled by coinbase since they make it easy for non-tech people. They are the facebook of the digital currency world. They will only process payments on whitelisted addresses. If you are traced to anything outside their terms of service the will close your account. By 2025 everyone has been banned by coinbase for small infractions and bitcoin is marked a failure.

Huh? So coinbase bans everyone and goes bankrupt. Makes no sense. Nor does it make sense to imply that being banned by coinbase somehow locks you out of the blockchain or from using bitcoin directly. You have imported the fiat/central bank mindset into bitcoin in a way that is completely anachronistic.

[Monetizer]

I guess some of the problems will eventually be solved, like usability and security for the average joe, insured exchanges and custodians also already happening.

I can only think of regulation and fraud, that can really stifle bitcoin's adoption.

Yeah, I think usability is not too bad at the moment for average people it is just about them getting their head around how it works. THIngs like the address book to store friends addresses and how easy it is to see how many BTC you have.
I think the big problem is about them learning how bitcoin works and wanting to use it after they hear about it.

[Zoomer]

It is not going to fail people will want it to people will try to make it some will be scared of it failing but the tech is here to stay it is not going anywhere thankfully. Instead of thinking of ways how it can fail think of ways you can help make it succeed.

[Monetizer]

I was just thinking in my head about bitcoin and it's chances of succeeding of a major worldwide currency. I thought back to here about how many posts there are with bitcoin's success, what are some ways you can think of that will make bitcoin Not succeed. The most obvious in my opinion being a hack of some sort to the blockchain.

I think the only thing that would really stymie it long term would be intractable problems with security and accidental loss due to bitcoin being decentralized, with no central authority to appeal to when you lose your passwords/wallets, or to secure your funds for you if you don't do a good job yourself. We've seen a heavy toll from hackers and scammers targeting bitcoins the past few years. I don't think that will continue unabated due to improvements in security in wallets and exchanges and increased security competency in leading bitcoin businesses. But if I'm wrong, the continued losses to theft could discourage enough core bitcoiners that it begins to dwindle.

That's really the one thing I realistically see stopping bitcoin from carving out at least a substantial niche in world finance. Other factors limiting its growth would be ease-of-use limitations with the software being developed for it, but those are being overcome little by little every day, and I don't see them as intractable. Even if you never could buy coffee at Starbucks with bitcoin as conveniently as with a credit card, it's already simple and easy to use for major financial uses from online purchases to buying real estate.

With your last comment about bitcoin and credit cards I think we are getting closer to realities like that everyday. There are already a few bitcoin based debit cards out there in which you can essentially pay with a credit card which comes out of your bitcoin balance.  

[Snipe85]

Bitcoin doesn't have to become a world currency to succeed and I think it will never become one.
It can succeed as a store of value or a payment processor that allows for cheap international transfers. It can also work as a local currency if any country decides to use it.

Have you ever seen the world to agree on something? Some countries will always oppose each other and if even one of them started using BTC the others would fight it.

[MilesJohan]

The only thing I can think of is the imbalance of distribution of bitcoin , which gave a few people a lot of bitcoins , even through the scams and hacks, and that giving them a chance to manipulate the prices.

[Monetizer]

The only thing I can think of is the imbalance of distribution of bitcoin , which gave a few people a lot of bitcoins , even through the scams and hacks, and that giving them a chance to manipulate the prices.

But that is comparable to the distribution of fiat money in which the top %10 have something like %90 of the worlds money. Scams and hacks can be problems but most of what we have seen with bitcoin have all been third party problems and generally not a fault of bitcoin itself.

[Q7]

The obvious threat that I see happening right now are some ponzi schemes created out of nowhere and trying to link themselves to bitcoin and then ended up destroying bitcoin's reputation. And I expect it to have a long term effect as the negative perception will turn people's attention away from bitcoin.

[Brewins]

1 - the world government arises
2 - the world government decides to hunt bitcoin and bitcoiners, by closing all nodes and jailing everyone that has some involvement with BTC


POOOF, Bitcoin is gone

[NotLambchop]

...Scams and hacks can be problems but most of what we have seen with bitcoin have all been third party problems and generally not a fault of bitcoin itself.

How is that different from real money?
Discussing real economy, do we separate fiat money from from its associated institutions (like Banksters who print too much of it out of thin air & eat our children)?  We don't, we talk about gestalt, the whole kit & caboodle.

Just like fiat attracts Lizard People, Bitcoin attracts its own motley crew of hax0rs, budding scammers & simpleminded incompetents.  Just like fiat lends itself to its associated set of evols, Bitcoin lends itself particularly well to scamming, amateurism & petty theft

[axel2078]

Lots of uninformed people out there already think that Bitcoin is some illegal currency that is used to buy drugs on underground sites. As long as the general masses believe this, I don't think Bitcoin will progress much.  You can have the best product in the world and it's useless if no one wants it.  The media certainly isn't helping with it's constant portrayal of Bitcoin funding terrorism and buying drugs in crime rings.  Aside from that, just look at all the bickering and fighting regarding Bitcoin that goes on right here in this forum. What does that tell you? What does it tell curious outsiders that may be looking in? That speaks volumes alone.

[Sylon]

The only thing I can think of is the imbalance of distribution of bitcoin , which gave a few people a lot of bitcoins , even through the scams and hacks, and that giving them a chance to manipulate the prices.

+1

That's one of the most disappointing fact about Bitcoin...

[Jakesy]

It's 2023 and coinbase has tradmarked "to the moon". 90%+ of all transactions are handled by coinbase since they make it easy for non-tech people. They are the facebook of the digital currency world. They will only process payments on whitelisted addresses. If you are traced to anything outside their terms of service the will close your account. By 2025 everyone has been banned by coinbase for small infractions and bitcoin is marked a failure.

Huh? So coinbase bans everyone and goes bankrupt. Makes no sense. Nor does it make sense to imply that being banned by coinbase somehow locks you out of the blockchain or from using bitcoin directly. You have imported the fiat/central bank mindset into bitcoin in a way that is completely anachronistic.

Haha so he answered the question...  it's a valid argument - with government control and regulation (much like Net Neutrality), it can kill Bitcoin.  No need to get upset at his argument... because as we currently stand, we are poised and in position to move in this direction.

[Monetizer]

Lots of uninformed people out there already think that Bitcoin is some illegal currency that is used to buy drugs on underground sites. As long as the general masses believe this, I don't think Bitcoin will progress much.  You can have the best product in the world and it's useless if no one wants it.  The media certainly isn't helping with it's constant portrayal of Bitcoin funding terrorism and buying drugs in crime rings.  Aside from that, just look at all the bickering and fighting regarding Bitcoin that goes on right here in this forum. What does that tell you? What does it tell curious outsiders that may be looking in? That speaks volumes alone.

I believe over time people will look into it and the such which will help them learn and open up to the truth. Although I agree the portrayal of bitcoin does not help with the masses.

[NotLambchop]

...The media certainly isn't helping with it's constant portrayal of Bitcoin funding terrorism and buying drugs in crime rings. ...

Let's not forget...

Why do you keep doing it, Bitcoiners?  

[futureofbitcoin]

greatest obstacle for bitcoin right now is how to obtain it. Unless obtaining bitcoins become A LOT easier, it will be very difficult for it to succeed.


And for those who think that it's "not that difficult to obtain bitcoin", that's because you're a huge believer and/or a real techie. For the other 99.9999% of the world, even if they get some interest in bitcoin, they'll give up once they see they have to give so much real info and wait days for confirmation from an exchange, and obviously they won't be able to mine since it's really hard for a non techie to understand how to mine, and even if they did, they don't have the equip to mine any significant amount.

People first learn about how bitcoin is "anonymous", and then all the exchanges want to know every single thing about them... it really just doesn't work. I think this is the biggest obstacle bitcoin has, and no matter how many stores accept it, if this doesn't change, bitcoin can't be mainstream.