If people actually started using it as a currency instead of only using it to trade for other currencies, it would be more stable.
Bitcoin crashes over 25% in 24 hours, under $180
41–50 of 348 posts
Re: Bitcoin crashes over 25% in 24 hours, under $180
#42I'm even less inclined to spend $100 now.
Re: Bitcoin crashes over 25% in 24 hours, under $180
#43Not really surprising. 2014 was meant to be the year of bitcoin and it flopped as far as the general public was concerned. Bitcoin picked up some more merchants but they almost universally saw disappointing sales or dramatic drop offs(Overstock the poster child which at one point was claiming serious expectations of $15-20m in bitcoin sales ended up with a 5th of the lower end of their claim). Mining companies are cl…
> most people(in western nations) learn about it and respond almost unanimously with 'Meh'. I have very mundane needs, and I've never figured out a compelling case for me to use bitcoin. In general, it's always been more trouble than convenience. I know there are people with exotic needs, but I think the majority of people are more like me.
Now, imagine you're poor, your family lives abroad, and a $20 fee on a $500 transfer is indeed a big issue.
There are usability concerns (a bitcoin ATM to deposit money and have it sent to an address would be nice) but the use case of near-zero, same-day money transfers is enormous. In the affluent western world it's strange to imagine that someone could depend on your speedy transfers and that even an extra $20 would go a long way.
Re: Bitcoin crashes over 25% in 24 hours, under $180
#44Yeah, as much as I like the concept of bitcoin (and the blockchain), I don't see adoption becoming anything more than anecdotal. No interest rate, and you have to secure it yourself? No thanks. My "big bad bank" guarantees me at least a small interest in saving money, and if my card is stolen, I get a new one in 24 hours and all transactions are cancelled. I'm happy to pay some transaction fees ("extortion!") to get…
Re: Bitcoin crashes over 25% in 24 hours, under $180
#45bitcoin, just like oil have dropped because energy will be cheap / nearly free soon.
Re: Bitcoin crashes over 25% in 24 hours, under $180
#46Yeah, as much as I like the concept of bitcoin (and the blockchain), I don't see adoption becoming anything more than anecdotal. No interest rate, and you have to secure it yourself? No thanks. My "big bad bank" guarantees me at least a small interest in saving money, and if my card is stolen, I get a new one in 24 hours and all transactions are cancelled. I'm happy to pay some transaction fees ("extortion!") to get…
I think it is expected that relatively new currencies have a turbulent period of a certain time. And as for interest, here in the Netherlands it is less than inflation so you loose money (interest on savings accounts is about 1%, inflation is between 1 and 2% over the past years). Bitcoin has or will have its niche, perhaps it will not be for your savings but sharing money with friends using a bitcoin wallet app is b…
Re: Bitcoin crashes over 25% in 24 hours, under $180
#47Yeah, as much as I like the concept of bitcoin (and the blockchain), I don't see adoption becoming anything more than anecdotal. No interest rate, and you have to secure it yourself? No thanks. My "big bad bank" guarantees me at least a small interest in saving money, and if my card is stolen, I get a new one in 24 hours and all transactions are cancelled. I'm happy to pay some transaction fees ("extortion!") to get…
Whatever shreds of interest your bank gives you will be way, way less than the inflation you're experiencing. In other words, your money's purchasing power keeps decreasing even if you're getting some interest on it, ie. you're losing your wealth.
Bitcoin doesn't experience inflation like that, so it should be a better store of value than your fiat currency. I said "should" because bitcoin has been in a speculative bubble, and just came down even more. Right now it's still just a speculative asset, but it could serve as a stable currency.
Your card is irrelevant.
Transaction fees are not extortion. They're a massive skimming operation inflicted on the masses, because the masses have no choice but to eat them. Thank your state-maintained bank cartel for that.
Re: Bitcoin crashes over 25% in 24 hours, under $180
#48Because of what ultimately happened to mtgox, when the bitstamp exchange came back online again, a lot of people probably wanted out as quickly as possible, fearing it to be insolvent.
Since keeping bitcoins oneself is too technical, the easiest path to cut ties with bitstamp would be just to sell, and probably many of them did.
Re: Bitcoin crashes over 25% in 24 hours, under $180
#49Re: Bitcoin crashes over 25% in 24 hours, under $180
#50Not really surprising. 2014 was meant to be the year of bitcoin and it flopped as far as the general public was concerned. Bitcoin picked up some more merchants but they almost universally saw disappointing sales or dramatic drop offs(Overstock the poster child which at one point was claiming serious expectations of $15-20m in bitcoin sales ended up with a 5th of the lower end of their claim). Mining companies are cl…
400 million of venture capital has flown into Bitcoin startups in 2014. This money is used to improve Bitcoin and to build new services on top. It's not over until we have seen what comes out of that.