4 ms·
Expensive is kinda of misnomer. When you remove the block reward of 25BTC, it's cheaper than most methods of money transfer. I've transfered as much as $1000
by AtheistOfFail 10y ago
Expensive is kinda of misnomer.
When you remove the block reward of 25BTC, it's cheaper than most methods of money transfer.
I've transfered as much as $1000 for around 2.3c.
- joosters 10y agoEverything is cheap when you remove or ignore the running costs...
- AtheistOfFail 10y agoI'll agree the 12.5BTC reward is pretty high but that's spread out across all the users as a "group cost" The network basically decides that providing the last 10 minutes worth of processing power is worth 12.5BTC and amount decreases every 4 years so the "group cost" will drop while the "individual cost" will rise. This is why the "fees are high" issue has come up, Bitcoin just reduced the block subsidy to 12.5BTC as opposed to 25BTC, while in the 50BTC era, transactions were often free of any charges. Even with all of that, an average user will pay less than the credit card fees charged to the shop so most shops would be wise to accept it, even if only to sell it for USD immediately.
- uncletammy 10y agoThe block reward "costs" the user only the amount by which the currency is devalued as a result of new coins being introduced (inflation). This cost is tiny and only getting smaller. If you're also counting the costs of running the network, you should call up Visa and ask them how much it costs them for you to be able to buy a cup of coffee with your credit card. The number will be so much higher.
- UncleMeat 10y agoAnd eventually the rewards will vanish and be replaced with transaction fees of the same value. Right now you pay in terms of lost value due to the increased supply of coins. The cost of running the network is the cost of transactions.