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I don't see how actively having to manage the volatility of your currency is "liberating" or a "lifesaver". I'm also not sure who or what would normally be rest

by and0 9y ago

I don't see how actively having to manage the volatility of your currency is "liberating" or a "lifesaver". I'm also not sure who or what would normally be restricting your spending, I live in the US and have only tripped up on fraud alerts (where my bank gives me a call before someone cashes my check, which I appreciate). Again, what are you buying regularly with Bitcoin? And what percentage of those massive expenditures are purely Bitcoin anyway? I also looked into these Bitcoin-backed debit cards and they have all the same issues as normal debit cards but worse: - 1% fee to load the card (this is nuts) - ATM fees like usual - Other misc fees, monthly or otherwise Every time someone talks about how great using Bitcoin is it sound like they just liked the idea of it and very deliberately modeled parts of their lives around it, rather than it offering any actual benefit.

kbody 9y ago
Managing volatility is interesting. Some eliminate it by going fiat and keeping funds on exchanges. Even if it's the easiest way of handling it, I go a different way because I also see it as an long-term investment, so I'm happy to hold real bitcoins on my own wallet, plus I like to optimize my positions in general. Like I said, restrictions apply to countries that have Capital controls, for starters you are only allowed to withdraw $300 per week and of course no purchases outside the country. Obviously I'm not in the US and I'm merely describing my case. My card's fee is a flat 0.5% on any amount loaded and ~$2 per withdrawal from an ATM, imo it's not that much plus the exchange rates are better than if I tried myself on my exchange. Also, I skip the fees from international remittances. I don't know the reality of daily life in the US, but even there it's not the same for everyone, I've read the stories of the unbanked. Just because it doesn't seem useful to your case, it doesn't prevent it from being for others.

by and0 9y ago

kbody 9y ago

Managing volatility is interesting. Some eliminate it by going fiat and keeping funds on exchanges. Even if it's the easiest way of handling it, I go a different way because I also see it as an long-term investment, so I'm happy to hold real bitcoins on my own wallet, plus I like to optimize my positions in general. Like I said, restrictions apply to countries that have Capital controls, for starters you are only allowed to withdraw $300 per week and of course no purchases outside the country. Obviously I'm not in the US and I'm merely describing my case. My card's fee is a flat 0.5% on any amount loaded and ~$2 per withdrawal from an ATM, imo it's not that much plus the exchange rates are better than if I tried myself on my exchange. Also, I skip the fees from international remittances. I don't know the reality of daily life in the US, but even there it's not the same for everyone, I've read the stories of the unbanked. Just because it doesn't seem useful to your case, it doesn't prevent it from being for others.