It seems to me that bitcoin will have a problem in becoming mainstream because it will feel more expensive to use than standard fiat.
In the case of Bitcoin, it seems to me that the transaction fee is always worn by the buyer and that would make it simply feel more expensive.
bitcoin has been around for about 9 years now and in all this time except a couple of months (which is less than 5% of its lifetime) the fees have been a couple of US cents.
In the current fiat system, you don't have to pay a fee to use it (in most cases), so it means there is a lack of incentive to use bitcoin for everyday transactions.
you don't see the fees you pay with fiat system, that is different. when you purchase with credit cards,... the vendor pays some fees, to cover that expense they add it to the value of their goods they are selling you and you don't see it because it is not a separate thing, it looks like the real value of what you are buying where in fact a part of it is to cover the "fees".
Thank you for answering the crux of my question but I'm still not convinced that it won't be a hurdle. Even if the general population agrees that a decentralised global currency like bitcoin is the best system, it would still require a big psychological shift to accept that they will be paying a certain fraction to an unkown third party (miner) on top of the listed price.
Perception isn't reality. And once you (or anyone else) really understands Bitcoin, by using it regularly, you'll realize that it's not more expensive. Fiat is more expensive because it's worth less tomorrow than it is today due to inflation. Bitcoin as a currency is deflationary. I want it to be more valuable tomorrow than it is today, it means my spending power just went up.
And if the idea of buying fractions of a bitcoin (because each bitcoin is worth so much) bothers you, consider buying Litecoin...it only costs $70 per coin, and it's still going to be worth more tomorrow than it is today.
There's a reason that Bitcoin is currently divisible to the 100 millionth of a coin, it ensures that it will be easy to spend even when the price of Bitcoin rises. There could be a time when we're talking about buying and spending satoshi and "Bitcoin" is synonymous with having $100k or $1m.
As bitcoin is currently in an inflationary stage (and will be for the foreseeable future), I don't accept this as a reason to overlook transaction fees.
I have no problem with owning a fraction of a bitcoin. That's beside the point.
The fact that a bitcoin is divisible to 100 millionth of a coin isn't going to prevent your holding of bitcoin from eroding due to transaction fees.
I'm yet not convinced but I'm willing to hear your other thoughts.
Bitcoin is like gold, so it is store of value. What is more you can pay with it, invest so it is just supreme. Never doubt in bitcoin and you will be rich!
I don't think it's productive to assume you just need to hold bitcoin to become rich. I think we
should doubt/criticise Bitcoin otherwise, there is no reason for it to develop/improve. It has to compete with other payment systems and if those other systems prove to have better functionality, bitcoin will get dropped and the value will drop too. Being limited in nature alone isn't going to get us anywhere.
The fee of bitcoin is normal, bitcoin was not projected as a payment method to make payments worldwide without paying fees in the first place. Bitcoin is created to make fast payments worldwide without the slightest limitation from anyone. This sentence is enough for me to pay whatever the current fee is as such form of payment without boundaries and without limitation or control from anyone is the most perfect one that exists yet.
Thank you for your thoughts. So, in that case it doesn't sound viable as an everyday payment method. If that's the case, then we're limiting bitcoin to a narrow application. Don't you think?