The broader issue is still that society isn't waking up to the need for crypto. Sure there are problems with BTC but if people actually cared about using it then an altcoin would have shot to the moon by now to take its place, even if temporarily. If the power is held by exchanges, then miners then merchants and consumers are down the bottom, then we're probably at the complete opposite of where we need to be.
There are no consumers. Just speculators.
Very well said. Indeed the main issue with digital currencies is that there are no consumers. A few thousands users of this forum is the digital currency community worldwide - that's all. Sad and pathetic what Satoshi's remarkable innovation became - a speculative asset without connection to real world use cases.
Consumption and various other uses are still being developed... these kinds of developments take time and infrastructure and creativity and incentives.. etc etc. .. that is, in part, why there is so much passion about the various bitcoin fork directions.. because many people want to develop around bitcoin and the future and whatever that may be..
Yes, it is still being developed for years - the development is just not getting anywhere. This analysis is not new, but it reveals that the increasing number of merchants - that was most likely the result of the worldwide media hype around Bitcoin in the last 3 years - does not translate to increasing number of consumer interest.
http://www.coindesk.com/analysis-around-70-bitcoins-dormant-least-six-months/This is the fundamental issue with Bitcoin. It is a fantastic technology based on a remarkable innovation from Satoshi, but consumers simply don't care about it. For investments there are simpler and more accessible assets available. It is too complicated for the average, not crypto literate population (these super talented developers are debating about a fucking block size issues instead of developing features that makes Bitcoin more user friendly). Even criminals not excited about Bitcoin as they can carry out their businesses very well using conventional payment methods.
There are 100,000 active users for Bitcoin after 5 years. It is just a pathetically low number after many years of media hype and being every day in the news around the world. Still, its user base is less than a lame community web site could gather for a second tier pop star.
I hope this current price crash will be a wake up call for the developers and community that there are fundamental issues with Bitcoin that prevents consumers adopt this payment method.
