Why would early adopters with lots of bitcoins ever want to waste their bitcoins on Chinese junks being peddled on overstock.com? We know that by HODLING we can make tons of profit.
It makes sense only if the early adopter CONVERTED his bitcoin to fiat for profit-taking purpose and then bought the said junk on overstock.com using the fiat. Even then, he's getting hosed on future profitability.
The overstock CEO's a smart guy, he knows he won't get a whole lot of business from bitcoin hodlers.
well, I both HODL and I SPENDL. I have a cold wallet that remains untouched, and a hot one that I spend from occasionally.
and most people holding will take some gains now and then. I guess it depends how long you have been holding... If you only bought recently you may not be ready to spend yet. But if you've seen 100x or greater returns (as lots have)... These people have already been HODLING for the longest time, and are now ready to enjoy a little profit now and then. (and to pass the BTC on for a next generation of brave new bitwarriors to HODL for them)
Maybe if you have plenty of fiat this makes less sense. But for some, their BTC value far exceeds their fiat.
And there are others, small businesses and freelancers, who receive it as payment and won't HODL at all and don't believe in any more meteoric rises. Probably it will be a small fraction of their overall income, so it's easier to spend then bother converting to fiat. And spending it directly can also enable tax avoidance more easily, though I would not advocate that.
