The big issue in Europe is that there are a plethora of low-cost instant and risk-free payment methods already in place.
For example;
- Spending 300 euro on a credit card costs less than 0.2%, and most transactions are not subject to fraud due to 3D secure (online) or chip and pin (point of sale).
- I paid for my coffee this morning (3.65 euro) via a contactless card which cost the merchant about 4 cents to process (due to being contactless).
- Even for those without cards inter-country bank transfers are generally free and often instant.
- For those who love anonymity there are tens of millions in anonymised payments transaction monthly via PaySafeCard, Ticket Surf, and others.
...as a payment method, it just doesn't have a use case at the moment (other than darknet retail).
As a store of value in Europe, sure. However it is still inflationary and volatile, and people have low cost access to other inflation proof investments. Again, no real use case (other than hiding wealth effectively).
Topic: Why the Future of Bitcoin Lies in Europe - page 4. (Read 3689 times)
European banking is light years ahead of the US for the average consumer. American banking is a fucking joke straight out of the stone age. They're the ones who'll get far more utility out of BTC. There's really no reason for a European to use BTC in comparison.
I think the UK is pushing forward enough to keep me here instead of looking into developing with Bitcoin in the US.
We are pushing forward but I hope the government don't try to regulate what they don't understand.
We are pushing forward but I hope the government don't try to regulate what they don't understand.
I hate to agree with this chap, but the USA is over regulated and not very Bitcoin friendly. They do have the advantage with the well developed internet infrastructure and loads of talented engineers in the
development scene, but it will not be enough, if all that innovation goes to waste on governments set on over regulating the technology. In a sense you understand that they are under constant threat, and they
have to regulate everything to be able to monitor and control these threats, but I think they are over complicating the matter and people try to capitalize on the technology by implementing stupid license's.
This will just give Europe and other Bitcoin friendly countries the lead.
development scene, but it will not be enough, if all that innovation goes to waste on governments set on over regulating the technology. In a sense you understand that they are under constant threat, and they
have to regulate everything to be able to monitor and control these threats, but I think they are over complicating the matter and people try to capitalize on the technology by implementing stupid license's.
This will just give Europe and other Bitcoin friendly countries the lead.
I am from Europe and I do not see much Bitcoin movement ...
However, as long as you can easily exchange Bitcoin for fiat and then transfer to your bank online, you can use Bitcoin in any place.
However, as long as you can easily exchange Bitcoin for fiat and then transfer to your bank online, you can use Bitcoin in any place.
I think the future is in south america where all the countries are trying to simpatize with socialist ideas and are breaking one by one. 
In Brazil who bought bitcoin at 290$ is still making a profit in 230$ levels due to money value decrease.
In Brazil who bought bitcoin at 290$ is still making a profit in 230$ levels due to money value decrease.
I have read that Argentina is very much into BTC, and I even know a guy who goes there and back (and says the same: LOTS of interest in BTC).
I would expect Venezuela will be next in BTC interest. There is a thread elsewhere on Venezuela and BTC and their economy.
But NO ONE in Peru is into it, que pena...!
I think the future is in south america where all the countries are trying to simpatize with socialist ideas and are breaking one by one.
In Brazil who bought bitcoin at 290$ is still making a profit in 230$ levels due to money value decrease.
In Brazil who bought bitcoin at 290$ is still making a profit in 230$ levels due to money value decrease.
Whichever nation tries to choke bitcoin, will miss the future of global e-commerce.
Only if this nation doesn't make their own digital currency that becomes larger than its predecessor and takes over. Bitcoin can end up choking itself when blockchain technology becomes adopted by banks all over the world and used for quick internet transactions. Most transactions nowadays are being done in the internet and both sides never see cash. The same thing could be done with the use of encryption and there's no need for a tradable digital currency to be the vessel.
Whichever nation tries to choke bitcoin, will miss the future of global e-commerce.
Only if this nation doesn't make their own digital currency that becomes larger than its predecessor and takes over. Bitcoin can end up choking itself when blockchain technology becomes adopted by banks all over the world and used for quick internet transactions. Most transactions nowadays are being done in the internet and both sides never see cash. The same thing could be done with the use of encryption and there's no need for a tradable digital currency to be the vessel.
I agree with this! I am not sure it lies in the US. Just look at all the threads daily by the US bitcoiners that are having difficulty buying bitcoins. All the KYC compliance and look at also BitLicense mess in NY. I don't know, maybe California is open enough, but I am not even sure about this.
Asia is not stable enough to be a leader. We still don't know the real view of Chinese government about Bitcoin. Look at Japan legislature and laws they proclaimed about Bitcoin. Maybe Hong Kong can be a major player but they are not showing enough initiative.
This leaves us with Europe, good old Europe!
Asia is not stable enough to be a leader. We still don't know the real view of Chinese government about Bitcoin. Look at Japan legislature and laws they proclaimed about Bitcoin. Maybe Hong Kong can be a major player but they are not showing enough initiative.
This leaves us with Europe, good old Europe!
Europe is more open to new ideas and is more quick to provide favorable atmosphere to integrate in its system.London I think will be the Bitcoin's World Hub and all digital currencies will be handled through this financial hub.Europe is more flexible for Bitcoin.
Yes I had forgotten about Argentina! A very, very good exemple of a country that would really benefit from a wider adoption of the BTC... With their economy and Peso completely out of control, I find it very surprising to see such hesitation to adopt and have a wider use of the Bitcoin. In these countries the telecom monopolies are not as dominant as in Canada, so their monthly fees for smartphones is much easier to swallow, perhaps even with their lower salaries factored in.
BTC has been pretty stable in the past year; more so than many of these countries' currencies; having to work so hard to earn some money, if this income is kept in their inflating currencies it is much less safe than in BTC, imo.
Then you have the governments around the world who, by definition, do not like to lose any grip they can have on their citizens (this is also true even with the US and Canadian govs). So Bitcoin has to overcome this political problem; but in the end all it means is that governments will always say, by definition, varying degrees of bad things about Bitcoin, to try to keep their citizens away from it. And in Canada, people follow government guidance almost blindly; I suppose this isn't the case in poor countries.
At the end of the day, it is the people who decide. If people accept BTC in droves, all the other entities will have to follow. It is just disappointing to see that the people that stand to gain the most, are the most hesitant.
BTC has been pretty stable in the past year; more so than many of these countries' currencies; having to work so hard to earn some money, if this income is kept in their inflating currencies it is much less safe than in BTC, imo.
Then you have the governments around the world who, by definition, do not like to lose any grip they can have on their citizens (this is also true even with the US and Canadian govs). So Bitcoin has to overcome this political problem; but in the end all it means is that governments will always say, by definition, varying degrees of bad things about Bitcoin, to try to keep their citizens away from it. And in Canada, people follow government guidance almost blindly; I suppose this isn't the case in poor countries.
At the end of the day, it is the people who decide. If people accept BTC in droves, all the other entities will have to follow. It is just disappointing to see that the people that stand to gain the most, are the most hesitant.
I'm not sure, it looks like there's many more places for me to spend my BTC in America.
The future of Bitcoin starts with the poorer countries in my opinion. Many people in cities now in Africa, as an example, have smartphones; yet they still rely on their national currencies or the US dollar, and these national curencies are plagued by high inflation and corrupt governments.
Mexicans who come to work here, in Canada, right now still rely on Western Union to send their hard earned money back home, and get exploited with very high fees that eat into their gains.
I realize people from developing countries are slow to adopt Bitcoin, but it is them who stand to gain most by adopting it first...
Mexicans who come to work here, in Canada, right now still rely on Western Union to send their hard earned money back home, and get exploited with very high fees that eat into their gains.
I realize people from developing countries are slow to adopt Bitcoin, but it is them who stand to gain most by adopting it first...
I agree with this opinion, in the case of Argentina, those who realize the potential of bitcoin use it as a refuge since the Argentinian peso is much more volatile than BTC; retirees and savers are tired their savings decrease by 18 times in five years through succesive devaluations. Poor countries have the handicap of education and access to computers but it is said necessity is the mother of ingenuity. As soon as more people in poor countries realize that BTC is a way out to protect themselves from their own corrupt government which over inflates taxes they will start to adopt it. DR Congo taxated so much every industry in its country that the only one that flourished there was bulb/flower industry because the government overlooked and didn't taxed it as high as the rest so it was the only place where new bussinesses could grow and develop.
Or China that imo helped drive the btc price up before its government intervened in early 2014 because before, as Agaguk mentioned, chinese inmigrants had to use Western Union to bring back their money to China, many risked it and hide wads of paper money trying to get through the airport, there you have a limit of 10k $ I think to carry with you without declaring it to the IRS. Imagine when you can load millions into a SD card and carry it with you without declaring any of it to IRS. It is one of the darker sides of btc but to many enterpreneurs is an attractive feature more so if the country you live in has high taxes.
The future of Bitcoin will be all around the globe. Some nations will use it earlier and accept it more than others.Furthermore we might see some countries as a haven for several Bitcoin companies. But the usage will be worldwide no doubt about that.
...
IMO, it's hard to say which region will make the future of Bitcoin great.
[Yeah, I am one of those guys who says,"I don't know", etc.]
Europe, in some ways, has more respect for privacy (with respect to you LiteCoinGuy, but Europe at least in SOME ways has a culture of more privacy vs. America).
America "may" be more dynamic, so if BTC catches on with the young here, it may take off very quickly.
"Critical Mass" is what we seek, IMO. Once a certain critical mass is hit, then BTC's future is assured. And would be great. But, if we do not reach critical mass, BTC might be smothered in its cradle.
And, ASIA will be the source of BIG NUMBERS of new users should BTC catch on big in Europe and the USA. Africa next perhaps.
IMO, it's hard to say which region will make the future of Bitcoin great.
[Yeah, I am one of those guys who says,"I don't know", etc.]
Europe, in some ways, has more respect for privacy (with respect to you LiteCoinGuy, but Europe at least in SOME ways has a culture of more privacy vs. America).
America "may" be more dynamic, so if BTC catches on with the young here, it may take off very quickly.
"Critical Mass" is what we seek, IMO. Once a certain critical mass is hit, then BTC's future is assured. And would be great. But, if we do not reach critical mass, BTC might be smothered in its cradle.
And, ASIA will be the source of BIG NUMBERS of new users should BTC catch on big in Europe and the USA. Africa next perhaps.
Bitcoin has to be global, that was the main point. If we start limiting Bitcoin by this or that country it will mean that Bitcoin failed. We must untie ourselves from the fiat system which is what is making us lag behind from where we could be at already. The future of Bitcoin is probably in unbanked countries as a bigger impact than developed countries since developed countries people are too dumb to realize on the fiat scam.
I also think that future of Bitcoin will be linked with EU but I will be effect of totally different reasons you may suspect.
You see EU will be crumbling in near future, Greece is first step in this direction, and economic stability will be endangered.
And there comes Bitcoin - it will be the cure for problems with € and rescue asset for people who aren't trusting in FIAT.
You see EU will be crumbling in near future, Greece is first step in this direction, and economic stability will be endangered.
And there comes Bitcoin - it will be the cure for problems with € and rescue asset for people who aren't trusting in FIAT.
No, no. You guys have it all wrong. The future of Bitcoin depends on intergalactic space travel and bringing the blockchain to emerging alien civilizations.
The future of Bitcoin starts with the poorer countries in my opinion. Many people in cities now in Africa, as an example, have smartphones; yet they still rely on their national currencies or the US dollar, and these national curencies are plagued by high inflation and corrupt governments.
Mexicans who come to work here, in Canada, right now still rely on Western Union to send their hard earned money back home, and get exploited with very high fees that eat into their gains.
I realize people from developing countries are slow to adopt Bitcoin, but it is them who stand to gain most by adopting it first...
Mexicans who come to work here, in Canada, right now still rely on Western Union to send their hard earned money back home, and get exploited with very high fees that eat into their gains.
I realize people from developing countries are slow to adopt Bitcoin, but it is them who stand to gain most by adopting it first...
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