Thanks crumbs, I'll admit I don't understand what you think I don't understand (not knowing what it is.)
I'll also agree fiat may be unraveling, and neither I nor Bitcoin can have any hand in it.
For that matter I don't even think fiat requires trust in it to function as well as it does.
The problem isn't fiat in of itself the cause of its unraveling is in the lack of consciousness in its managers. *Edit* "The money men"
The fundamental mechanism is the lack of understand in inflating the money supply both through fractional reserve banking and its original creation.
The result of which is inescapable economic inequality and deviating malinvestment a result of constant economic growth.
Fiat and FRB have done what history requires and it is time to move on.
The OP IMO is trying to open eyes to a moral injustice (one you are prepared to accept) IMO only because you don't yet grasp the downside of usury and environmental collapse.
Topic: Why do people trust fiat money? - page 2. (Read 7467 times)
@crumbs
It only works if savers are happy to give up 3-5% of there savings every year, and investors are happy in investing in higher risk investments and you turn a blind eye to economic growth at the experience of the environment.
If ignorance is comfortable for you all is good in the world, pay no attention to Bitcoin and its deluded followers.
But for those of us who are learning from our mistakes the injustice that results from fiat is going to face resistance, and the unraveling is inevitable.
It only works if savers are happy to give up 3-5% of there savings every year, and investors are happy in investing in higher risk investments and you turn a blind eye to economic growth at the experience of the environment.
If ignorance is comfortable for you all is good in the world, pay no attention to Bitcoin and its deluded followers.
But for those of us who are learning from our mistakes the injustice that results from fiat is going to face resistance, and the unraveling is inevitable.
Let me walk you through your fails:
Fail #1:
I like bitcoin, i use bitcoin, i pay attention to bitcoin. My being on a bitcoin forum should have been your first clue.
Fail #2:
I am not happy to give up even a fraction of a fraction of a percent of my savings every year, i'm greedy that way. I will do it only because it is the cost of doing business in the civilized world. They don't have taxes or inflation in Equestria, but pones are different that way, Adrian-x.
Fail#3:
U are learning nothing, because it is obvious that u do not understand how money works or what money does, and you do not even understand that you don't understand these things. That's a lot of not understanding, Adrian-x.
Fail #4:
Fiat might be unraveling, but certainly not because of ur resistance -- hard to resist that which you don't understand.
UR welcome.
@crumbs
It only works if savers are happy to give up 3-5% of there savings every year, and investors are happy in investing in higher risk investments and you turn a blind eye to economic growth at the experience of the environment.
If ignorance is comfortable for you all is good in the world, pay no attention to Bitcoin and its deluded followers.
But for those of us who are learning from our mistakes the injustice that results from fiat is going to face resistance, and the unraveling is inevitable.
It only works if savers are happy to give up 3-5% of there savings every year, and investors are happy in investing in higher risk investments and you turn a blind eye to economic growth at the experience of the environment.
If ignorance is comfortable for you all is good in the world, pay no attention to Bitcoin and its deluded followers.
But for those of us who are learning from our mistakes the injustice that results from fiat is going to face resistance, and the unraveling is inevitable.
Perhaps it's *you* who doesn't understand how fiat works? The *only ones* who find your logic persuasive *are* children.
Ok grownup, tell me how fiat works
Why people use a green paper that cost almost nothing to make to pay each other and all of the domestic merchants accept it?
Because that's what grownups do, johnyj. They have learned from empirical data, if not through reasoning, that the trick works.
Would you feel better if dollars were more expensive to print? Only accept pennies -- they cost over two cents to coin. PROFIT!
Empirical data? Hundreds of years ago, the sun was moving around the earth and the ground was flat from empirical data
People can not see the truth about fiat money from an end user point of view, but more and more people are beginning to see the truth
If money can be created out of nothing, everyone should create some for himself, why only selected a few can create? Don't you feel strange that you can elect a government but you can't affect the money supply through election?
Johnyj, i can't undo years of misinformation that you've apparently been exposed to, suffice it to say that if what you don't understand about money was a skyscraper, it would immediately collapse under its own weight. Money doesn't have to be worth anything, it's the map, not the land. It represents the trust you place in your country. You have none, thus are a fool to keep using money. Other people think that their country & its government have some clout, at least more clout then Hax0r B0b, and thus use money. Money has worked relatively well up 'till now. If you share the apocalyptic visions of Chicken Little, send me ur monyz before the pale green horse approaches with Death and the Grave riding on its back, k?
Perhaps it's *you* who doesn't understand how fiat works? The *only ones* who find your logic persuasive *are* children.
Ok grownup, tell me how fiat works
Why people use a green paper that cost almost nothing to make to pay each other and all of the domestic merchants accept it?
Because that's what grownups do, johnyj. They have learned from empirical data, if not through reasoning, that the trick works.
Would you feel better if dollars were more expensive to print? Only accept pennies -- they cost over two cents to coin. PROFIT!
Empirical data? Hundreds of years ago, the sun was moving around the earth and the ground was flat from empirical data
People can not see the truth about fiat money from an end user point of view, but more and more people are beginning to see the truth
If money can be created out of nothing, everyone should create some for himself, why only selected a few can create? Don't you feel strange that you can elect a government but you can't affect the money supply through election?
snip
This entire post is ignorant and full of propaganda. If you would take the time to learn about Bitcoin and general economics, I wouldn't have to waste my time explaining this all to you.
To sum it up, your argument is: "This is the way it has been since I can remember, so it must always be this way forever."
You cannot have a rational argument with this premise. You take your own doubt as absolute truth; I can't help you there, and I won't waste any more time trying to explain something as basic as risk. I recommend going to your local college and taking a few courses in history (so you'll see, clearly, things never stay as they are), and then try your luck with economics and government. At this point, you lack so much knowledge, it is impossible for you to even know when you're wrong. For example:
snip
Just an observation; those with weak arguments love to dissect.
Don't worry in my country education is much better than in USA and/or Texas and free.
You have no clue and/or argument to explain why bitcoin might eventually remain, and you refuse to admit basic evidences.
Bye.
snip
This entire post is ignorant and full of propaganda. If you would take the time to learn about Bitcoin and general economics, I wouldn't have to waste my time explaining this all to you.
To sum it up, your argument is: "This is the way it has been since I can remember, so it must always be this way forever."
You cannot have a rational argument with this premise. You take your own doubt as absolute truth; I can't help you there, and I won't waste any more time trying to explain something as basic as risk. I recommend going to your local college and taking a few courses in history (so you'll see, clearly, things never stay as they are), and then try your luck with economics and government. At this point, you lack so much knowledge, it is impossible for you to even know when you're wrong. For example:
snip
Just an observation; those with weak arguments love to dissect.
Perhaps it's *you* who doesn't understand how fiat works? The *only ones* who find your logic persuasive *are* children.
Ok grownup, tell me how fiat works
Why people use a green paper that cost almost nothing to make to pay each other and all of the domestic merchants accept it?
Because that's what grownups do, johnyj. They have learned from empirical data, if not through reasoning, that the trick works.
Would you feel better if dollars were more expensive to print? Only accept pennies -- they cost over two cents to coin. PROFIT!
Perhaps it's *you* who doesn't understand how fiat works? The *only ones* who find your logic persuasive *are* children.
Ok grownup, tell me how fiat works
Why people use a green paper that cost almost nothing to make to pay each other and all of the domestic merchants accept it?
...
People have always been able to exchange USD for gold, but suddenly one day 1971 US government refuse to exchange dollar for gold and then it goes for hyperinflation
People have always been able to exchange USD for gold, but suddenly one day 1971 US government refuse to exchange dollar for gold and then it goes for hyperinflation
Factually wrong. Hyperinflation is defined as 50%/mo or greater. Never happened. The expression you're looking for is "inflationary rhetoric."
Quote
What if one day Walmart refuse to accept USD in exchange for their goods?
What if one day Wal-Mart refused to take money & insisted on being paid in Vestal Virgins, hmm?
Quote
All it takes is ONE supermarket accept bitcoin as payment and it could happen during one night
The only thing that will happen overnight, in this case, is one supermarket accepting bitcoins. Some meatspace stores already do. No biggie.
Quote
Bitcoin will not replace fiat, they serve different purposes. But if some day fiat really crashed, bitcoin will definitely come to save, and you can not rule out that risk totally, there are many possibilities for fiat money to fail, even they are not that obvious now
Fiat can fail, and currencies did, more than once. If fiat fails, another fiat will pick up the slack. Or Bitcoin. Or Sexcoin. Or Herpaderpcoin. Everything's possible, i suppose.
Quote
There is a very obvious reason that could cause fiat money's failure: Why should any merchant use their product/service to exchange for a piece of paper which is backed by nothing (gold used to back fiat money has been removed since 1971)?
Bitcoin is also not backed by gold, and has the further disadvantage of not being backed by the government, or even by Haxor B0b.
Quote
Maybe they don't understand how fiat money works, but exchange some valuable things for nothing is an absurd logic that even a children can understand
Perhaps it's *you* who doesn't understand how fiat works? The *only ones* who find your logic persuasive *are* children.
I agree that from an end user perspective, bitcoin is still not so easy to use, even after 2 years in bitcoin world, I'm still having problem to trust the safety of a private key (until yesterday some one invented a method to generate a private key by casting dice ) Without some good knowledge in IT, you will always be struggling with the technical details
But if you look from higher level...
Due to its deflative nature, bitcoin will seldom be used as a medium of payment, more likely to become a store of value which you can transfer to anywhere in the world. These properties might not be so important for a domestic user, but when you dealing with another country, it is highly valuable. We all know that most of today's countries are trying to debase their currency through inflation so that they can export more, none of the currency are enough trustworthy world wide if they are issued by a single government. Even a currency portfolio like SDR does not hold its value over time, since all the underlying components are inflating
So from an international perspective, bitcoin is no difference than any other foreign currency that are traded on exchanges, you don't need to know how a japanese yen works in Japan, as long as you can exchange it to dollar, it has value. And due to bitcoin's deflative nature and not backed by any single government, it has the highest credit rating
) Without some good knowledge in IT, you will always be struggling with the technical detailsBut if you look from higher level...
Due to its deflative nature, bitcoin will seldom be used as a medium of payment, more likely to become a store of value which you can transfer to anywhere in the world. These properties might not be so important for a domestic user, but when you dealing with another country, it is highly valuable. We all know that most of today's countries are trying to debase their currency through inflation so that they can export more, none of the currency are enough trustworthy world wide if they are issued by a single government. Even a currency portfolio like SDR does not hold its value over time, since all the underlying components are inflating
So from an international perspective, bitcoin is no difference than any other foreign currency that are traded on exchanges, you don't need to know how a japanese yen works in Japan, as long as you can exchange it to dollar, it has value. And due to bitcoin's deflative nature and not backed by any single government, it has the highest credit rating
I explained here: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/btc-will-never-extend-more-288335
Why I think that bitcoin will never extend more.
Yes, bitcoin might be used as a store of value.
Yes, bitcoin might be used by some people to get paid for their service.
Yes, bitcoin might be used for buying drugs.
Yes, bitcoin might be used for other kind of things.
But no, bitcoin is never gonna replace fiat. It's just like gold.
People trust fiat, people trust gold. But they trust fiat more than gold, because they know that they can go to walmart and buy some fish with fiat, and not with gold.
People have always been able to exchange USD for gold, but suddenly one day 1971 US government refuse to exchange dollar for gold and then it goes for hyperinflation
What if one day Walmart refuse to accept USD in exchange for their goods? All it takes is ONE supermarket accept bitcoin as payment and it could happen during one night
Bitcoin will not replace fiat, they serve different purposes. But if some day fiat really crashed, bitcoin will definitely come to save, and you can not rule out that risk totally, there are many possibilities for fiat money to fail, even they are not that obvious now
There is a very obvious reason that could cause fiat money's failure: Why should any merchant use their product/service to exchange for a piece of paper which is backed by nothing (gold used to back fiat money has been removed since 1971)? Maybe they don't understand how fiat money works, but exchange some valuable things for nothing is an absurd logic that even a children can understand
I agree that from an end user perspective, bitcoin is still not so easy to use, even after 2 years in bitcoin world, I'm still having problem to trust the safety of a private key (until yesterday some one invented a method to generate a private key by casting dice ) Without some good knowledge in IT, you will always be struggling with the technical details
But if you look from higher level...
Due to its deflative nature, bitcoin will seldom be used as a medium of payment, more likely to become a store of value which you can transfer to anywhere in the world. These properties might not be so important for a domestic user, but when you dealing with another country, it is highly valuable. We all know that most of today's countries are trying to debase their currency through inflation so that they can export more, none of the currency are enough trustworthy world wide if they are issued by a single government. Even a currency portfolio like SDR does not hold its value over time, since all the underlying components are inflating
So from an international perspective, bitcoin is no difference than any other foreign currency that are traded on exchanges, you don't need to know how a japanese yen works in Japan, as long as you can exchange it to dollar, it has value. And due to bitcoin's deflative nature and not backed by any single government, it has the highest credit rating
) Without some good knowledge in IT, you will always be struggling with the technical detailsBut if you look from higher level...
Due to its deflative nature, bitcoin will seldom be used as a medium of payment, more likely to become a store of value which you can transfer to anywhere in the world. These properties might not be so important for a domestic user, but when you dealing with another country, it is highly valuable. We all know that most of today's countries are trying to debase their currency through inflation so that they can export more, none of the currency are enough trustworthy world wide if they are issued by a single government. Even a currency portfolio like SDR does not hold its value over time, since all the underlying components are inflating
So from an international perspective, bitcoin is no difference than any other foreign currency that are traded on exchanges, you don't need to know how a japanese yen works in Japan, as long as you can exchange it to dollar, it has value. And due to bitcoin's deflative nature and not backed by any single government, it has the highest credit rating
I explained here: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/btc-will-never-extend-more-288335
Why I think that bitcoin will never extend more.
Yes, bitcoin might be used as a store of value.
Yes, bitcoin might be used by some people to get paid for their service.
Yes, bitcoin might be used for buying drugs.
Yes, bitcoin might be used for other kind of things.
But no, bitcoin is never gonna replace fiat. It's just like gold.
People trust fiat, people trust gold. But they trust fiat more than gold, because they know that they can go to walmart and buy some fish with fiat, and not with gold.
...And due to bitcoin's deflative nature and not backed by any single government, it has the highest credit rating
Lul wut
P.S: Bitcoin is currently inflationary, that's how miners get their coins. As far as credit rating, well... There's none.
1) Bitcoin is backed by nothing, or thin air. The concept might be cracked in the future, or under 51% attack, and noone will do anything to save it.
2) Bitcoin is still in beta. Its value can be worth nothing tomorrow. The chance that fiat disappears within 20 years is 0%. The chance that bitcoin will disappear within 20 years, is between 10 and 50% depending how confident you are about it.
3) Why would btc value will always rise over time? I don't think so. Let's talk about that in 20 years
And don't tell me that btc is a deflationary currency, it's bullshit.
People are only using bitcoin to invest money, and make some fiat profit. If bitcoins does not find some use in the future, its value will decrease.
4) Bitcoin is accepted where? I have only seen one Australian shop that accepted bitcoins and the fees were twice as much as CC fees. It's pointless, if the fees are higher.
5) Credit Card confirms instantly.
I'm still waiting (3 days now) for my last btc transaction ....
Not to mention that bitcoin is really hard to use. When I download the client, I could not download the whole blockchain, even after 1 month of downloading. I had to use an online wallet ... Normal people want something easy, convenient, and simple to use.
I agree that from an end user perspective, bitcoin is still not so easy to use, even after 2 years in bitcoin world, I'm still having problem to trust the safety of a private key (until yesterday some one invented a method to generate a private key by casting dice
) Without some good knowledge in IT, you will always be struggling with the technical detailsBut if you look from higher level...
Due to its deflative nature, bitcoin will seldom be used as a medium of payment, more likely to become a store of value which you can transfer to anywhere in the world. These properties might not be so important for a domestic user, but when you dealing with another country, it is highly valuable. We all know that most of today's countries are trying to debase their currency through inflation so that they can export more, none of the currency are enough trustworthy world wide if they are issued by a single government. Even a currency portfolio like SDR does not hold its value over time, since all the underlying components are inflating
So from an international perspective, bitcoin is no difference than any other foreign currency that are traded on exchanges, you don't need to know how a japanese yen works in Japan, as long as you can exchange it to dollar, it has value. And due to bitcoin's deflative nature and not backed by any single government, it has the highest credit rating
Backed by govs: I already explained why this doesn't matter; if people don't accept a currency, it doesn't matter who prints it and who backs it. Saying "It's backed by governments" is synonymous with "We're forcing you and sometimes other nations to use our currency by subsidizing ours against theirs. We will shut down any currency used in our borders that isn't ours." A monopoly over currencies is not a worthy quality to me.
But you are not representative of the people. The US government, elected by US citizens, is representing the people, and they rule the country on behalf on the people, for them, with their agreement. That's exactly the same. It's the same people who prints and accepts USD in America, and the same people that accepts and prints EURO in Europe.
It will remain: Provide evidence of this happening. I have evidence of this not happening; we can clearly see how many currencies have gone extinct over the course of time. Neither the USD or Bitcoin-the-currency (but not the protocol) is safe from extinction.
Fiat money exists in my country since 1795. And it will exist when I'm passing away.
I don't see any only-accepted-fiat currency disappearing in a developped European or American country.
I only see crap coins disappearing, like bitcoin. Which is actually a point:
- if you have USD, it won't disappear, or it will be replaced by a new currency, and you will be allowed to exchange freely the old currency by the new one.
- if you have some coins (like bitcoins) which are unofficial, and only used by some people and not everyone, it is likely/possible to disappear.
I can't believe that you think that bitcoins has any chance to disappear after fiat money.
Just wondering: how many fiat do you have? How many btc?
Its value is almost constant over time: You're comparing something old to something new; of course BTC is unstable right now, it has a very small userbase, compared to most nations. The only thing constant about most fiat is that it's worth less now than ever, and thus hopeless as a store of wealth.
The problem with bitcoin is that it will never grow higher, because:
1) it is unsafe for customers.
2) it is highly volatile for merchants.
3) it is not convenient to use.
4) ...
It is a great innovation. It made some people millionnaires (in usd
), maybe the founder billionnaire.But it will remain what it is now:
- some tool to buy stuff anonymously on internet, and uncommon.
- some tool to buy drugs.
- some tool to invest online.
(- eventually a safe haven like gold for some people)
But nothing more. It is not gonna replace fiat, or even compete with it. It is clearly not designed for it, and not trustworthy enough.
Still, it does not mean that it will disappear, but people will always go to the shop buying with USD.
It is accepted everywhere: Define "it". If you went to a grocer in Norway and pulled out this stuff, how far would you get? Chances are, the grocer will ask you to put your monopoly money away.
If you offer to send him a btc transaction, he will tell you to GTFO as well.
But if you show him some kroners (fiat), you will be fine
Guess what, it = fiat.
It is convenient to use: No more or less convenient than Bitcoin, except when you, as a businessman, have to put up with unjust chargebacks. Then it gets a little inconvenient.
From a customer point of view, I want a guarantee that if some douchedags chinese cracks the system and stole my lifetime savings, I want it back. And quickly. It is insured by fiat, not by btc. And I can show you dozens of people crying the fuck out of them because of that.
From a customer point of view, I want to pay it cheap. I don't mind of VISA takes a 2% fee. But if I see that bitcoins price are 10% higher than fiat prices, which is currently the case, and most likely will stay that way, I don't give a shit that the merchant has no fee with bicoin and I will pay it cheaper with my CC.
It takes (AFAIK) 180 days for a CC to confirm, fees included, period. It takes Bitcoin about an hour, fees included. Without the fee, you're right; 1-3 days. Now, you can accept a CC charge instantly, and you can accept Bitcoin instantly (if you don't believe me, actually try using Bitcoin, instead of knocking it), but considering it only takes Bitcoin roughly an hour to finalize, there is far less to worry about when it comes to BTC; by the time you get 6 confirms, you know, beyond a reasonable doubt, you are in possession of that bitcoin.
180 days for a CC to confirm. That may seem awesome if you're only a consumer, but from a business point of view, along with all the fees which come with accepting CCs (hooray for convenience), it is, at best, a chore to put up with.
180 days for a CC to confirm. That may seem awesome if you're only a consumer, but from a business point of view, along with all the fees which come with accepting CCs (hooray for convenience), it is, at best, a chore to put up with.
You are confusing 2 things:
- confirm
- proceed
CC takes 180 days to proceed, but only a couple of seconds to confirms. Bitcoins need at least one confirmation to confirms because of double spend. Depending on the point of view, we can considered it as proceeded after 1 - 2 - 6 confirmations. Bitcoins is much faster to proceed. But much longer to confirm. And the only things that matter is confirming. When you buy something, after it is confirmed, you can have it. In a shop, you can leave within 1 min, you don't have to wait with your bag for 180 days. In an hypotetical bitcoin shop, if you don't include a fee, you would have to wait 3 days before leaving the shop with what you bought.
Though there is a tiny, optional fee to using Bitcoin, it's nowhere near as big as the fee businesses pay to use CCs.
Yes, bitcoin can be used rarely for private transactions, as an unofficial currency. I don't deny it.
But as you said in your last sentence, it will never be used widely.
I have most of my wealth in BTC, since you're asking, because I work as a freelance artist and that's what my clients pay me with. I convert some to fiat whenever I need to pay the bills, but would pay directly with BTC if they accepted it. And the question becomes, "Well if Bitcoin is so great, why aren't businesses accepting it?" Which requires a long, drawn out answer, which can be summed up as: 1. Bitcoin is young, and 2. The whole government-backed anti-other-currencies thing the USD unfairly has.
Yes, bitcoin can be used rarely for private transactions, as an unofficial currency. I don't deny it.
But as you said in your last sentence, it will never be used widely.
People trust fiat money because it is backed by govs.
People trust fiat money because it will remain.
People trust fiat money because its value is almost constant over time (unlike btc).
People trust fiat money because it is accepted everywhere.
People trust fiat money because it is convenient to use.
Well, almost the same reason apply to bitcoin
People trust bitcoin because it is backed by mathematics
People trust bitcoin because it will remain (Government might disappear, bitcoin won't)
People trust bitcoin because its value will always rise over time (unlike fiat money)
People trust bitcoin because it is accepted somewhere (Just like euro, a currency doesn't need to be accepted everywhere to be useful)
People trust bitcoin because it is convenient to use (not as good as cash, but better than any other online payment method)
So these reasons are irrelevant, there should be some other reasons. Tradition, habbit, ignorance, fear, need protection from a powerful entity...
But your reasons are totally wrong.
1) Bitcoin is backed by nothing, or thin air. The concept might be cracked in the future, or under 51% attack, and noone will do anything to save it.
2) Bitcoin is still in beta. Its value can be worth nothing tomorrow. The chance that fiat disappears within 20 years is 0%. The chance that bitcoin will disappear within 20 years, is between 10 and 50% depending how confident you are about it.
3) Why would btc value will always rise over time? I don't think so. Let's talk about that in 20 years
And don't tell me that btc is a deflationary currency, it's bullshit.
People are only using bitcoin to invest money, and make some fiat profit. If bitcoins does not find some use in the future, its value will decrease.
4) Bitcoin is accepted where? I have only seen one Australian shop that accepted bitcoins and the fees were twice as much as CC fees. It's pointless, if the fees are higher.
5) Credit Card confirms instantly.
I'm still waiting (3 days now) for my last btc transaction ....
Credit Card can be charged back if you got hacked, or an unauthorized transaction happens.
Bitcoin offers no protection to customers. If you got hacked, you can only cry and make a thread here:
Mt Gox account hacked!
Mtgox Account Hacked
bitstamp and mtgox accounts hacked at same time
Bitcoin wallet hacked!
Mt. Gox account hacked, 21.88 BTC stolen
Have IP and BTC address.....
[HACKED] while i was on holiday.
My account has been hacked.
Not to mention that bitcoin is really hard to use. When I download the client, I could not download the whole blockchain, even after 1 month of downloading. I had to use an online wallet ... Normal people want something easy, convenient, and simple to use.
This is because fiat is easily exchanged and globally accepted, which is exactly what you would want in a currency. Bitcoin still alludes most people as they see it as an abstract idea that would never work on a large scale.
Some South African government collapsed, but their fiat paper money was still worth something many years later, as it was still being used and traded.
snip
Backed by govs: I already explained why this doesn't matter; if people don't accept a currency, it doesn't matter who prints it and who backs it. Saying "It's backed by governments" is synonymous with "We're forcing you and sometimes other nations to use our currency by subsidizing ours against theirs. We will shut down any currency used in our borders that isn't ours." A monopoly over currencies is not a worthy quality to me.
It will remain: Provide evidence of this happening. I have evidence of this not happening; we can clearly see how many currencies have gone extinct over the course of time. Neither the USD or Bitcoin-the-currency (but not the protocol) is safe from extinction.
Its value is almost constant over time: You're comparing something old to something new; of course BTC is unstable right now, it has a very small userbase, compared to most nations. The only thing constant about most fiat is that it's worth less now than ever, and thus hopeless as a store of wealth.
It is accepted everywhere: Define "it". If you went to a grocer in Norway and pulled out this stuff, how far would you get? Chances are, the grocer will ask you to put your monopoly money away.
It is convenient to use: No more or less convenient than Bitcoin, except when you, as a businessman, have to put up with unjust chargebacks. Then it gets a little inconvenient.
Quote
No, bitcoin does not confirm much faster than credit card. It took me 1 - 3 days to confirm every time I make a transaction without fee. Double spent are unlikely though, but still, you can't say that the transaction is done before the first confirmation...
It took me 10 - 20 seconds to confirm by CC.
It took me 10 - 20 seconds to confirm by CC.
It takes (AFAIK) 180 days for a CC to confirm, fees included, period. It takes Bitcoin about an hour, fees included. Without the fee, you're right; 1-3 days. Now, you can accept a CC charge instantly, and you can accept Bitcoin instantly (if you don't believe me, actually try using Bitcoin, instead of knocking it), but considering it only takes Bitcoin roughly an hour to finalize, there is far less to worry about when it comes to BTC; by the time you get 6 confirms, you know, beyond a reasonable doubt, you are in possession of that bitcoin.
180 days for a CC to confirm. That may seem awesome if you're only a consumer, but from a business point of view, along with all the fees which come with accepting CCs (hooray for convenience), it is, at best, a chore to put up with.
Though there is a tiny, optional fee to using Bitcoin, it's nowhere near as big as the fee businesses pay to use CCs.
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You might think that currency x will succeed, but if you're alone to think that, currency x is pointless, useless and worthless.
I'm glad to see you're catching on.
I have most of my wealth in BTC, since you're asking, because I work as a freelance artist and that's what my clients pay me with. I convert some to fiat whenever I need to pay the bills, but would pay directly with BTC if they accepted it. And the question becomes, "Well if Bitcoin is so great, why aren't businesses accepting it?" Which requires a long, drawn out answer, which can be summed up as: 1. Bitcoin is young, and 2. The whole government-backed anti-other-currencies thing the USD unfairly has.
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