$0.85 transaction fee is just a small fee because if you compare it to the banks or any remittances you can get a minimum of around $1-5 fee for every transaction (based in the rate of the remittances here). When i do transactions in blockchain, it charges me for the lowest of $0.42 and the maximum fee that i put is around $1, it is okay for me because higher fees means faster confirmation.
not true that banks charge you more, i don't pay anything with my bank for any kind of movements, desposit withdrawal from atm or transfer of any kind, the only time i need to pay is to send money abroad
on abroad transaction bitcoin is very good compared to any bank, in fact they usually charge 25 euro or more for a transfer, with bitcoin you are there wiht 3 euro at worst
WIth a US bank, you can use cash, check to pay someone without incurring any fees. If you use a debit card, you pay 21 cents in fees. A federal law limits debit card fees to 21 cents in the U.S.
That is the closest comparable to bitcoin in the U.S. because credit card fees are due to the fact that credit card spending is a loan. When you buy something with a credit card, you are spending money you don't have. At the end of the month, you have the option to pay or to roll the balance to the next month. If you pay the credit card off every month, you have no fees. The vendor getting your money does pay a fee, you just don't see it. Since things are generally priced the same whether you pay by cash, check, debit card or credit card, as a consumer it is usually best to buy with a credit card because you can dispute the transaction easily if there is a problem. And you can get cash back rewards with a lot of cards, making using a credit card the cheapest option to purchase something.
Buying something with a credit card that has a cash back option is by far the cheapest option for consumers buying online. The transaction cost is negative for the consumer.
Transferring money internationally by wire can be expensive.I only use wire transfers for amounts above $50,000 because the fee can be $30 or so. When I transfer money internationally, I usually use Transferwise. It has a flat $3 fee for transfer under $300. That includes the conversion into the receiving parties local currency with the rate locked for 24 hours at the mid market day rate. So, you aren't just getting the transfer, the receiver is getting local currency. To transfer bitcoin using local currency, you'd need to buy buycoin and the receiver would need to sell bitcoin. Both sides incur an exchange fee and the transfer fee is on top of that.
Bitcoin is good for illegal transactions like the current ransomware attack. The illegal transaction market is a decent sized market and people don't care about fees very much.
Some proponents say "look at Venezuela" and talk about currency inflation as a reason bitcoin will eventually become popular as a currency. People don't use currency as a store of value. How many people own paper dollars as an investment? None. People own assets, the dollar is a means of exchange. It is what things are priced in. When the "value of the dollar" goes down, it means other asset prices have gone up compared to the dollar. Venezuela is not having issues because the value of the Bolivar is going to hell. The value of the Bolivar is going to hell because the country has fallen apart and all assets in Venezuela, including the Bolivar, are becoming worthless as a result.
The best proxy for bitcoin is public stock in a company that has no income, no assets and that pays no dividends. It is not a currency, it is an asset that can be bought or sold, only to someone else. Like a stock, you can transfer the stock to someone else through a broker (miner) and you will incur a transaction fee to do so.
I am not saying this is a good or bad thing or what it means for the future.