Topic: Advantages of Bitcoin over traditional payment systems - page 4. (Read 2353 times)

Its good that you have given time for this and prepared the list of advantage of bitcoin and yes agree with all of those points and that is the reason why we are using bitcoins and we also love it.The two most features in your points that i like the most about bitcoins are pseudo anonymous and low transaction fees.And good work by you.

I don't know any disadvantage of bitcoins yet. I can do pretty much everything noted above from other users and if I feel like, I can immediately convert it to cash hassle free through a lot of exchanges that are available. In certain countries with very low standard of life bitcoin can even make a BIG difference to their life.

Bitcoin is helping a lot of people since it has been created and I hope and believe it will continue to do so in the future. Advantages of it are already said here so no need to repeat others.

So, once in 20xx, you'll look back to 2013 and say Bitcoin is volatile?  

You're wrong. That's where the intrinsic value of a blockchain stems from; without immutability Bitcoin would likely be worthless (or near this).

My bad, it cut of for some reason. You shouldn't list it as a disadvantage anyways. Also, please learn how to properly respond to parts of a post (the way you did it is very wrong).

Bitcoin provides ease of access to merchants and clients alike. No weight of coins, and no clumsy handling of notes. Exact payment amounts, too.

You forgot to quote the rest of the post -

Very volatile indeed.  


That's a feature of a immutable chain, not a disadvantage.

This is not a disadvantage of Bitcoin; it's just a misconception.

Yes there are several disadvantages as well and as well all know comparison = similarity + dissimilarity. On this note I would like to point out some relevant points regarding this matter:

1. Volatility of price of bitcoin is there which makes it a prime target for traders. Bad news for stores/shops
2. Payment Gateways integration is low for bitcoin with respect to fiat currency.
3. Payment Availability in bitcoin is also low. Not many people get paid in bitcoin for offering their service (I am talking in general which means outside this forum)
4. Acceptance and Popularity - bitcoin needs more acceptance throughout the world, that does not mean the US/UK - the rest of the world is also there.
5. Irreversibility of transaction - though I consider it as the least because it is a fault of the user to mis-click and not system. However we are all human and we tend to make mistakes.

Edit: I did remove one about which I am also not very confident as a disadvatage but is rather a misconception.

Such as?

That does not make it safer at all. Regardless of whether or not you're carrying cash, someone at gunpoint can attempt to force you to move your Bitcoin (no, don't tell me you're not carrying anything on you, because the argument is moot then).

While the latter correlates with the first, it does not cause it.

Well paying people using bitcoin is easier and more convenient way, we dont need to carry the money around so it's safer and we can make bitcoin address easier than opening account, so it should make people easier to do transaction

You also should include the disadvantages, it doesn't seem honest just to show the good stuff, you should give a complete picture.

You should definitely mention speed. On average, a transaction will confirm in 10 minutes. Compare that to international bank transaction time. Also, you should expand on "low fees", as in the fee for sending $10 and $10 Million would be the same (assuming they have the same TX size).

it looks good to me.

although i would add security to it.
when using any other payment systems online you are risking your information being stolen like your credit card information, and there is always risks of malware, keylogger, and other things that can steel your information and abuse it.

however with bitcoin since you can do everything offline all the said risks reach zero. you can have a air lock system using a Live linux offline for example, and make the transactions (use your sensitive information like private keys) there and then only broadcast the public data (non-sensitive) online.

also there is no charge back. it means the trust is shifted from users trusting the merchant with their personal information into merchants trusting their users not to double spend. also users trusting merchants (based on the merchant history) to send the product.

I often meet newbies and try to explain to them what makes Bitcoin special. I am trying to compile a list of advantages of Bitcoin.

Is there anything anybody feels I should add to the list below?

Also I think its better to keep to concrete, succinct,  advantages. Not what might be considered wishy washy hype about how it will 'help bring sub-saharan Africans out of poverty by allowing them to purchase goats with Bitcoin".

Some of the reasons which I currently state:

-It allows you to have full control of your money, nobody can take away your money.

-It is not controlled by anyone. Its a decentralised peer-to-peer network. Based on open source software. This means it can not be manipulated, Bitcoin supply is fixed modelling it after gold. Nobody can stop or prevent transactions.

-It has low fees compared to other online payment methods like paypal, credit cards etc.

-It is truly global.

-It is programmable money that allows for smart contracts.

-Anybody including kids from their basement, can create financial applications without permission. This is because its open source technology and the network is not controlled by anybody. Nobody needs to ask permission to use it and nobody can restrict access. If you have access to the internet you can access it.

-It is pseudo anonymous and with some extra effort it can be very close to anonymous. You need sophisticated state actors using significant resources to de-anonymise if somebody takes extra effort.

-It is less hackable then traditional payment systems because it is a push system. That means you dont provide your 'secret keys' to receiver/merchant when you make a payment, unlike with credit cards.