I think there's little question that bitcoin is unsustainable unless an ecosystem emerges for spending it.
So how many of you actually transact in bitcoin? What for? And if you haven't, why not?
Ask HN: Bitcoin owners—how many of you have actually *bought* something with it?
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Re: Ask HN: Bitcoin owners—how many of you have actually *bought* something with it?
#2Yes, mymodafinil.net
Basically, merchants who benefit from Bitcoin are those that VISA/PayPal don't want to touch.
Re: Ask HN: Bitcoin owners—how many of you have actually *bought* something with it?
#3There's no incentive to purchase something with BitCoin if the value continues to go up. Would you spend $5 on a sandwich knowing that by the end of the day if you don't spend you may have $10 instead? BitCoin is not a currency. It's a commodity or "virtual good". The speculation around BitCoin will be its undoing.
Re: Ask HN: Bitcoin owners—how many of you have actually *bought* something with it?
#4There's no incentive to purchase something with BitCoin if the value continues to go up. Would you spend $5 on a sandwich knowing that by the end of the day if you don't spend you may have $10 instead? BitCoin is not a currency. It's a commodity or "virtual good". The speculation around BitCoin will be its undoing.
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Re: Ask HN: Bitcoin owners—how many of you have actually *bought* something with it?
#5[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Bitcoin owners—how many of you have actually *bought* something with it?
#6lots of people are already using it to buy drugs and do online gambling.
it can also be used by people in countries that restrict internet access to buy vpn services.
Re: Ask HN: Bitcoin owners—how many of you have actually *bought* something with it?
#7I've purchased domains (NameCheap), food (Foodler), work (contractors), and countless other little things. Checking out with bitcoin is incredibly simple and easy when compared to using credit cards. I also don't need to worry about my credit card information being compromised if someone I buy from is cracked.
Re: Ask HN: Bitcoin owners—how many of you have actually *bought* something with it?
#8I bought a laptop recently.
The price was a little higher than if I had paid old fashioned money, about $700 instead of $680-690. But I needed one. I guessed the price of Bitcoin would be likely to go down temporarily, which was right. It was one way of taking some profits from the increase in value
I earn money in Bitcoin, so it is a closed loop for me.
Re: Ask HN: Bitcoin owners—how many of you have actually *bought* something with it?
#9There's no incentive to purchase something with BitCoin if the value continues to go up. Would you spend $5 on a sandwich knowing that by the end of the day if you don't spend you may have $10 instead? BitCoin is not a currency. It's a commodity or "virtual good". The speculation around BitCoin will be its undoing.
That's a flawed argument, because you can by the sandwich for $5 worth of BTCs, and then immediately buy the BTCs back with cash.
Of course, that seems excessive for the individual user, which is why your wallet service provider will do it on your behalf and assume the risk. I imagine Coinbase will do this very soon.
Assuming that in a couple of years there will be a functioning derivatives market, the wallet service provider can then offload that risk to investors.
Speculation isn't a "bad thing", it's a natural thing that is necessary for an efficient market.
Re: Ask HN: Bitcoin owners—how many of you have actually *bought* something with it?
#10Yes, mymodafinil.net Basically, merchants who benefit from Bitcoin are those that VISA/PayPal don't want to touch.
> Basically, merchants who benefit from Bitcoin are those that VISA/PayPal don't want to touch.
Interestingly, that site has Visa and Mastercard logos on the home page.