My simple solution to this perceived problem is to simply encourage the adoption of cBTC or some other SMALLER unit as the standard unit referred to in exchange rather than the full bitcoin. This way you just change the scale of the exchange rate, thus changing the public perception.
So then, for example, today's price would be expressed as $1.35 cBTC. And it would stay in that small relatable scale until 1 BTC hit $1,000. Then that previously scary price would be represented as $10.00 cBTC, which seems like a relative pittance.
Switching over to millibits would probably be even better. Today's price would be $.135 mBTC.
Bitcoin is a *very* limited issue. Think about how small 21 million units is for a currency! The scale simply has to change and the sooner the better. This could be adopted by consensus over time. Once the exchanges adopt it, then one of the major public perception problems of Bitcoin is gone. People will want to throw money at it if they can buy units for next to nothing - just like the very early adopters did.
I agree, the psychological barrier to paying 1000USD/btc is extreme! So how do we remove the psychological limit, if there is one? The only way to do this is through education so that people begin to use the MilliBTC and MicroBTC denominations...
I propose a move to everyone, we now speak of the price of Bitcoin as being in Bitcents. At current pricing it is 1.36USD/Bitcent.
My thinking is look at the distribution of bitcoins, 21,000,000 . 000,000,00 , That looks like a perfect division to me a very symmetrical number. so we have 11 million BTC in circulation and with a market cap of 1.5 billion USD... that means that if we translate that number to that division it is... 1,500,000,0.00 . that looks like a good way to figure out where we should be considering the starting point to talk about Bitcoin if we want it to get past that mental barrier.
and About Max Keisers comments. I agree with him a set price would be good, but who should set that price is definitely not a central authority.
and there is no way that it would be feasable; if the Soviet Communists couldn't set the price in Russia, what chance does a small organization outnumbered by the vast majority of humanity have? just wait for the first herd of new users from a G20 country and you'll know it can't be done.
The question is what the hell are we basing Bitcoins price on? Market Data? Future growth? I doubt anyone doing the trading is even bothering to do an economical analysis.
Look at this article I found: it explains how Bitcoin is an empty valueless stock which it's only purpose is to gamble... If this is the mentality of the traders we are in trouble, because they are basing their assumptions on the fact that everyone else on the exchange is just gambling as well.
http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/the-bitcoin-bubble-bad-hypothesis-8353WE NEED MARKET DATA! to back the movement of bitcoin. How many businesses are getting on-board with Bitcoin? What is their market size? What amount of their customers are Bitcoin users? etc, etc... Education is the only way to stabilize the price after we remove the psychological barrier,
Smart, Intelligent, informed traders, consumers and miners is the only way we are going to gain stability.