Topic: Bitcoin's Big Problem... - page 2. (Read 2610 times)

Not true. It's not harder than using internet banking.
Even my mom is now using android phone to pay bitcoins for generic prescription drugs and saving a lot.
I spent about 15 minutes explaining her what is bitcoin and how to buy/sell it. She doesn't need to run bitcoin-qt, third party wallet is fine for small amounts.

Bitcoin adoption is going on and I believe that, if it doesn't fail due to some critical vulnerability, some day it will cost much more.

nothing would propel bitcoin more than some sort of bitcoin ATM

Imagine atm which allows you to buy/sell bitcoin offers you to choose any exchange you would like, be it gox, or bitstamp.
As a bonus it lets you to do so either instantly at current price, or set your own bids/asks.
You would use a hardware wallet to login, if you like.
And it would accept/dispence fiat (or credit cards if you do not care for anonimity).

This is absolutely correct.  Look how quickly and easily it has become to acquire Bitcoin through a service like Coinbase now compared to just three months ago.  A lot of little (or big) changes and improvements like that start to find synergy and work together to increase ease of use significantly - especially when there is financial incentive for companies and individuals to make Bitcoin "easier"

This can be fixed with a hardware wallet like Trezor

The bitcoin ecosystem is growing, it takes time. Once getting a hardware wallet will be easy using bitcoin will be much much safer

Same for other things, it takes time and work.

It sounds like you are making the assumption that nothing will change. I agree with you but only considering the current state of Bitcoin. Yes, right now there are some challenges with it. But people all over the world are actively working on solutions to these challenges to knock down the walls preventing acceptance. Almost nothing is insurmountable. As long as man can dream it, he can accomplish it. When Bitcoin becomes the perfect solution to solve your problem, whatever that problem may be, be it with a person or a whole country, then acceptance will be very swift.

Absolutely, I hear you, and I'm hoping it does grow... The only problem I see is that people (historically) revert to physical stores of wealth during crisis... We haven't really had a virtual option before, but with most USD/EUR etc. transactions being virtual now a days anyhow, will people be willing to trust another virtual system?

If gold is $1315 an ounce theirs room for growth in bitcoin. Gold is $1315 an ounce despite their being three ounces mined per person on the planet. There aren't that many bitcoins to go around that's for sure.

I'm assuming that the USD and EUR will be relatively stable for the next 10-15 years, yes... But if they did loose their value, why would people go straight to BTC? Most people are completely unaware of Bitcoin, and I feel that precious metals and physical valuables will be the obvious go to investment for most of the population.... That said, I am holding out for your aforementioned scenario!

You are assuming that the dollar and the euro will be rock solid currencies. With that assumption, you're conclusions are correct.

Is it very probable that USD and EUR will lose value and people will be looking for alternative money. When people see the financial collapse happening, they will be willing to learn how to use bitcoin.

Gold is pretty much useless, only makes sense as a hedge against fiat currency collapse. Yet the value of all the gold in the world is ~7 trillion USD. Bitcoin is ~1 billion. It's a gamble, sure, but I'd rather bet on bitcoin than on gold.

     I'm tickled by folks who swear up and down that BTC will be $10,000/BTC+ in a few years time, just as soon as BTC begins to catch on and garner more market adoption. Of course I would love for nothing more, but it seems like most of these predictions are little more than comforting delusions made by folks hoarding their BTC, laying in wait to become filthy rich!

    Bitcoin's big problem is that of adoption... Bitcoin just isn't easy enough.

   For instance, all of the promising articles coming out talking about how BTC is perfect for developing third world countries? Yes, BTC is in theory, great for people in developing countries, or who are victims of monetarily abusive governments... But access to a personal computer, let alone internet access which is NOT widespread in underdeveloped countries. In North America, 78% of the population uses, or has the ability to use the internet. In Europe, its 63%. Compare this to Africa, which is at 15%, or the Middle East, which sits around 40% and we can infer that the majority of the population does not currently have the ability to even run a Wallet. Even then, would they know how to backup a wallet.dat file? would they know how to encrypt? Probably not. Remember guys, most of us here are fans of and experts on computers/networking/technology.

   Beyond that, getting started with Bitcoin is just too hard. Describing Bitcoin to some one who either A. Isn't computer savvy, or B. doesn't understand economics is difficult enough. Downloading a Wallet is fairly simple, but then how to get Bitcoins? You have to sign up with Coinbase, (easiest method at the moment, at least here in the states with the exception of localbitcoins) hook up a bank account (Most people are too cautious to do this) and wait for verification... and then it kind of looses its anonymous draw as transactions can be traced back to a fiat bank account. People are not patient... If they aren't able to just download an iPhone app, they probably wont give it a second attempt. We need a super simple way to set people up with something lite like MultiBit.

    "But wait... What would I need to buy BTC for?" They will say... There are certainly far more business accepting fiat currency. "well BTC is for keeping value secure against inflation and government abuses, its also instantly transferable and fairly anonymous!" You'll implore. Ah yes, BTC can be used this way, and as I said before, the majority of us are storing our BTC this way. But this is the biggest problem... A currency cannot catch on, cannot thrive, cannot penetrate the market unless it is being circulated often. We don't spend our coins, because we are waiting for the price to increase... But we wont see any increase until more people start spending coins. Unless something crazy happens with the Global economy and people start dumping fiat into BTC... We are technophiles, and that is why we like BTC. Because it's a cool phenomenon spawned from the internet, and we love when we can get the internet to do new things.... I'm not saying that BTC is pointless, or a dumb idea... especially if you enjoy items from SilkRoad. I love BTC, and for some reason mining is a lot of fun for me, so I will continue to hold BTC and secretly hope to get rich quick.

     I do believe that given another ten or fifteen years, BTC could really become truly widespread, but my fear is that it will die off due to market stagnation long before it has that chance... What do you guys think?
  
   (Not trying to upset anyone! Just a discussion! Lets keep it civil    )