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Face it, retail use of Bitcoin went nowhere. In physical retail, sure. I live in China. I've done consulting work for US companies, been paid in Bitcoin, and u

Face it, retail use of Bitcoin went nowhere. In physical retail, sure. I live in China. I've done consulting work for US companies, been paid in Bitcoin, and used the money to purchase and ship antiques from Europe (via Skrill). I was pleasantly surprised that it was possible (without furnishing stupendous quantities of documentation to US-encumbered Bitcoin exchanges) and feel the user experience has in many ways already surpassed credit cards.

BoorishBears 10y ago
Not to be rude, but how does that address the parent post's point? Your example is extremely niche. I don't see how one could reasonably claim bitcoin has any involvement whatsoever in mainstream online retail. It really has gone nowhere on the scale of "somewhere" assuming "somewhere" is anything past niche exchanges (and contraband)
- contingencies 10y ago
  Get out of your bubble. 1.4 billion people live in China. A similar number live in India. That's a huge percentage of people on the planet. These people cannot easily access the US-dominated credit card system at all, or if they can only with significant restrictions. For example, a foreign friend of mine with a credit card issued by a Chinese bank explained to me this week that he cannot use it online because the bank has conjoined his first and last names. Bitcoin gives them a method of cross-border settlement that is actually available and effective.
  - BoorishBears 10y ago
    I'm from Ghana and visit all the time. I lived in 3 countries for at least 2 years each by the time I was 10. Please don't insult me by claiming I live in a "bubble" Bitcoin does not end up being a solution to problem you described in the slightest. The "US-dominated credit card system" and websites that take Bitcoin very rarely overlap. The whole point I made was that the credit card system is still dominating major online retailers and that Bitcoin has existed almost completely outside of those retailers.

BoorishBears 10y ago

Not to be rude, but how does that address the parent post's point? Your example is extremely niche. I don't see how one could reasonably claim bitcoin has any involvement whatsoever in mainstream online retail. It really has gone nowhere on the scale of "somewhere" assuming "somewhere" is anything past niche exchanges (and contraband)

contingencies 10y ago
Get out of your bubble. 1.4 billion people live in China. A similar number live in India. That's a huge percentage of people on the planet. These people cannot easily access the US-dominated credit card system at all, or if they can only with significant restrictions. For example, a foreign friend of mine with a credit card issued by a Chinese bank explained to me this week that he cannot use it online because the bank has conjoined his first and last names. Bitcoin gives them a method of cross-border settlement that is actually available and effective.
- BoorishBears 10y ago
  I'm from Ghana and visit all the time. I lived in 3 countries for at least 2 years each by the time I was 10. Please don't insult me by claiming I live in a "bubble" Bitcoin does not end up being a solution to problem you described in the slightest. The "US-dominated credit card system" and websites that take Bitcoin very rarely overlap. The whole point I made was that the credit card system is still dominating major online retailers and that Bitcoin has existed almost completely outside of those retailers.