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Unsurprising that they've ceased to accept Bitcoin. The only significant use cases thus far have been ransomware and buying recreational drugs. And early adopte

Unsurprising that they've ceased to accept Bitcoin. The only significant use cases thus far have been ransomware and buying recreational drugs. And early adopters cashing out of the pyramid scheme.

jcoffland 11y ago
And global remittances, store of wealth, international monetary system resistant to government and bank controls, to name a few other uses. It's amazing how many people are willing, even eager to dismiss crypto-currencies. The concept is so radical and revolutionary that it scares the shit out of a lot of people. It will take time for humans to catch up but if you think it's just a fad then you are deluding yourself.
- Certhas 11y ago
  Because the problem with the international finance system really is that the regulatory controls are to strict....
- moonbug 11y ago
  > The concept is so radical and revolutionary that it scares the shit out of a lot of people Oh please.
- jlarocco 11y ago
  "And global remittances, store of wealth, international monetary system resistant to government and bank controls, ..." BitCoin might be taken more seriously if their advocates explained why any of those need to be solved, and how BitCoin does it better than the existing solutions. Global remittance isn't something people need very often, and there are already solutions for it. BitCoin is not a very great store of wealth. Keeping a box of cash under your bed is more likely to retain its value than BitCoin. Storing wealth isn't even a very good idea, though, and if a person has enough money laying around they'd be better off investing it anyway. Finally, being "resistant to government and bank controls" isn't very convincing either, and I would hypothesize advertising it that way actually hurts take up by making it sound subversive. A drug kingpin would love a money system resistant to the government and the banking system, but what actual benefit does a normal person get from it? And is it even a true statement?
  - Avshalom 11y ago
    Considering that what two three mining pools make up the majority of Bitxoin and can thus decide it's fate vs the number of governments and banks and being their varying policy I really feel like bitcoin is if anything more controlled. At the very least a cash transaction doesn't need to be okayed by a third party.
  - repomies69 11y ago
    Problems are always subjective. I personally think that Bitcoin will revolutionize certain types remittance and cross-border global transactions, but I think it will happen quite slowly. What bitcoin isn't that useful for, is this kind of internet microtransactions that Microsoft was accepting. Which is quite funny in a way, because I myself use Bitcoin for this kind of transactions, steam games, humble bundle etc. But it isn't really that I want to use specifically bitcoin, it's just that I happen to have bitcoin lying around, and it is easier to spend btc on this kind of items than other payment methods. People aren't going to buy bitcoin to use them on steam games etc, but they might use them for steam games if they already have some bitcoin.
  - vamur 11y ago
    Eliminating third parties is always a good thing.
    - Avshalom 11y ago
      Bitcoin requires third parties.
- jeffdavis 11y ago
  Those are all theoretical use cases which need to be proven over time. The illegitimate use cases are already proven.
minimaxir 11y ago
Yesterday, 21.co made a blog post proposing a micropayments API: https://medium.com/@21/the-first-micropayments-marketplace-38c321127d12 https://medium.com/@21/the-first-micropayments-marketplace-3... The two key value propositions noted in the post are: > Buy APIs instantly without signup or credit card > Sell APIs instantly without a bank account ...which are solutions looking for a problem. If you are working with legal businesses and dealing with signup, credit cards, or bank accounts are deal breakers, then there are other significant problems with your business model.
- bunderbunder 11y ago
  Eef, I hadn't seen that yet. That's really quite a thing. I'm pretty sure that for most legitimate businesses, signup is something they want and wish everyone could do. It helps them track and maintain customer relationships, which is becoming an increasingly essential activity in the age of loyalty cards. A bank account is similarly desirable. It takes a large part of the task of safeguarding your funds out of the hands of an amateur (i.e., oneself) and into the hands of a specialist with strong fiduciary responsibilities.
- kuschku 11y ago
  Take for example most Germans. We don’t have credit cards. At all. We use EC (the E in EMV), which is a completely independent payment system, but isn’t used at all outside of Europe. So, no US websites accept it. I’ve been trying for 3 years to find an actually free way to send Google money to get a Google Play Dev account, but the only way is to pay money to get a credit card. Seriously, if companies in the US would just accept a fucking international wire transfer – globally standardized, free to send and accept, processes in a few minutes – I could use a lot more international services. But the way it is, I can’t.
  - jkyle 11y ago
    Honest question. Why not get a credit card? They don't cost anything and would open up a new market for you.
    - 11y ago
CyberDildonics 11y ago
Also never having to deal with credit card fraud, sending money across country borders, taking cash out of 1/3rd of the ATMs in Thailand, buying computer parts, buying anything from overstock, ordering food directly from your computer without punching in any numbers...
- troymc 11y ago
  If someone uses my credit card to buy something I didn't approve, I get my money back and I get a new credit card, all for free. It's annoying, sure, but also reassuring. If someone steals my Bitcoin wallet and uses it to buy something I didn't approve, well, boo hoo for me. No doubt it's all my fault. Blame the victim, etc. I'm much happier "having to deal with credit card fraud."

Unsurprising that they've ceased to accept Bitcoin. The only significant use cases thus far have been ransomware and buying recreational drugs. And early adopters cashing out of the pyramid scheme.

jcoffland 11y ago

And global remittances, store of wealth, international monetary system resistant to government and bank controls, to name a few other uses. It's amazing how many people are willing, even eager to dismiss crypto-currencies. The concept is so radical and revolutionary that it scares the shit out of a lot of people. It will take time for humans to catch up but if you think it's just a fad then you are deluding yourself.

Certhas 11y ago
Because the problem with the international finance system really is that the regulatory controls are to strict....
moonbug 11y ago
> The concept is so radical and revolutionary that it scares the shit out of a lot of people Oh please.
jlarocco 11y ago
"And global remittances, store of wealth, international monetary system resistant to government and bank controls, ..." BitCoin might be taken more seriously if their advocates explained why any of those need to be solved, and how BitCoin does it better than the existing solutions. Global remittance isn't something people need very often, and there are already solutions for it. BitCoin is not a very great store of wealth. Keeping a box of cash under your bed is more likely to retain its value than BitCoin. Storing wealth isn't even a very good idea, though, and if a person has enough money laying around they'd be better off investing it anyway. Finally, being "resistant to government and bank controls" isn't very convincing either, and I would hypothesize advertising it that way actually hurts take up by making it sound subversive. A drug kingpin would love a money system resistant to the government and the banking system, but what actual benefit does a normal person get from it? And is it even a true statement?
- Avshalom 11y ago
  Considering that what two three mining pools make up the majority of Bitxoin and can thus decide it's fate vs the number of governments and banks and being their varying policy I really feel like bitcoin is if anything more controlled. At the very least a cash transaction doesn't need to be okayed by a third party.
- repomies69 11y ago
  Problems are always subjective. I personally think that Bitcoin will revolutionize certain types remittance and cross-border global transactions, but I think it will happen quite slowly. What bitcoin isn't that useful for, is this kind of internet microtransactions that Microsoft was accepting. Which is quite funny in a way, because I myself use Bitcoin for this kind of transactions, steam games, humble bundle etc. But it isn't really that I want to use specifically bitcoin, it's just that I happen to have bitcoin lying around, and it is easier to spend btc on this kind of items than other payment methods. People aren't going to buy bitcoin to use them on steam games etc, but they might use them for steam games if they already have some bitcoin.
- vamur 11y ago
  Eliminating third parties is always a good thing.
  - Avshalom 11y ago
    Bitcoin requires third parties.
jeffdavis 11y ago
Those are all theoretical use cases which need to be proven over time. The illegitimate use cases are already proven.

minimaxir 11y ago

Yesterday, 21.co made a blog post proposing a micropayments API: https://medium.com/@21/the-first-micropayments-marketplace-38c321127d12 https://medium.com/@21/the-first-micropayments-marketplace-3... The two key value propositions noted in the post are: > Buy APIs instantly without signup or credit card > Sell APIs instantly without a bank account ...which are solutions looking for a problem. If you are working with legal businesses and dealing with signup, credit cards, or bank accounts are deal breakers, then there are other significant problems with your business model.

bunderbunder 11y ago
Eef, I hadn't seen that yet. That's really quite a thing. I'm pretty sure that for most legitimate businesses, signup is something they want and wish everyone could do. It helps them track and maintain customer relationships, which is becoming an increasingly essential activity in the age of loyalty cards. A bank account is similarly desirable. It takes a large part of the task of safeguarding your funds out of the hands of an amateur (i.e., oneself) and into the hands of a specialist with strong fiduciary responsibilities.
kuschku 11y ago
Take for example most Germans. We don’t have credit cards. At all. We use EC (the E in EMV), which is a completely independent payment system, but isn’t used at all outside of Europe. So, no US websites accept it. I’ve been trying for 3 years to find an actually free way to send Google money to get a Google Play Dev account, but the only way is to pay money to get a credit card. Seriously, if companies in the US would just accept a fucking international wire transfer – globally standardized, free to send and accept, processes in a few minutes – I could use a lot more international services. But the way it is, I can’t.
- jkyle 11y ago
  Honest question. Why not get a credit card? They don't cost anything and would open up a new market for you.
  - 11y ago

CyberDildonics 11y ago

Also never having to deal with credit card fraud, sending money across country borders, taking cash out of 1/3rd of the ATMs in Thailand, buying computer parts, buying anything from overstock, ordering food directly from your computer without punching in any numbers...

troymc 11y ago
If someone uses my credit card to buy something I didn't approve, I get my money back and I get a new credit card, all for free. It's annoying, sure, but also reassuring. If someone steals my Bitcoin wallet and uses it to buy something I didn't approve, well, boo hoo for me. No doubt it's all my fault. Blame the victim, etc. I'm much happier "having to deal with credit card fraud."