After reading this very long and winding thread, I can see both sides of the argument. But I think in the end it all comes down to one thing: counter party risk.
If you use paypal, or Visa, or whatever system out there, those providers assume some counterparty risk. And they charge you for it. Sometimes they charge you a lot for it.
When you use Bitcoins, you assume all of the risk. There is no risk premium on transactions.
When you assume all of the risk, occasionally you may simply lose.
If you use paypal, or Visa, or whatever system out there, those providers assume some counterparty risk. And they charge you for it. Sometimes they charge you a lot for it.
When you use Bitcoins, you assume all of the risk. There is no risk premium on transactions.
When you assume all of the risk, occasionally you may simply lose.
Unless you find a company that will take on the Bitcoin risk for you (and actually keep their promise).
That's the missing component isn't it. There are entirely too many scumbags running Bitcoin businesses for there to be any kind of stability. How many broken promises can you count here starting with MyBitcoin and Bruce Wagner. I lost track and stopped counting after Bitcoinica.
There are too many bitcoin businesses centered around trying to sell their way of making bitcoins, or perhaps these types of businesses are the only ones getting the attenion. We need more shops that sell physical products or real world services to accept bitcoin and get them in the limelight. Wishing doesn't do much though...
)