4 ms·

Probably when it is used mainly as actual currency, not for speculation or black market exchanges and laundering.

booleandilemma 9y ago
I was skeptical of Bitcoin for a long time, but the other day I was on a (legal) website and they had it listed as a payment method, right next to Visa. Seeing it there really showed me how far it's come.
- MBCook 9y ago
  It's not that hard to add to a real website, but what percentage of transactions are conducted in it? I mean if some big retailer like Amazon or BestBuy or Walmart to accept it, but only 0.02% of their daily transactions involved bitcoin would that be a success? It's a lot of money in absolute numbers, but it's minuscule as a percentage. If it were 5% that would certainly be something to look at.
- tunetine 9y ago
  Are you for real? I feel like we're being trolled by Bitcoin holders who want to keep the value propped up.
  - tehlike 9y ago
    they probably couldn't hear you over the price of their coins.
notsofastbuddy 9y ago
How is DNM usage not an actual currency?
- tunetine 9y ago
  DNM is something I had to look up. I don't have to explain why going to the store and being able to purchase something with Bitcoin is not the same as buying drugs on the black market.
throwaway0255 9y ago
To what extent do you think the value of bitcoin is driven by its use as a black market exchange / laundering tool? I suspect virtually all of it. People dismiss this viewpoint because they attribute it to Silk Road type activities, which can't explain the scale, but what I'm talking about is millionaires and billionaires funneling wealth out of China etc. One thing that's certain is that bitcoin isn't really a currency. When you pay with bitcoin, the value is tied to and converted to USD, and the price paid is tied to USD. Bitcoin isn't the currency in those transactions, USD is. Bitcoin is more like a decentralized anonymous Western Union than it is a currency. I also don't understand what proponents think the endgame is for bitcoin as an investment-grade asset. Everyone who buys some just becomes the world's first trillionaires, and we become a 2-tiered society of people who bought bitcoin and people who didn't? Bitcoin might have some serious world-changing implications, but I seriously doubt it being an investable asset is one of them.

I was skeptical of Bitcoin for a long time, but the other day I was on a (legal) website and they had it listed as a payment method, right next to Visa. Seeing it there really showed me how far it's come.

MBCook 9y ago
It's not that hard to add to a real website, but what percentage of transactions are conducted in it? I mean if some big retailer like Amazon or BestBuy or Walmart to accept it, but only 0.02% of their daily transactions involved bitcoin would that be a success? It's a lot of money in absolute numbers, but it's minuscule as a percentage. If it were 5% that would certainly be something to look at.
tunetine 9y ago
Are you for real? I feel like we're being trolled by Bitcoin holders who want to keep the value propped up.
- tehlike 9y ago
  they probably couldn't hear you over the price of their coins.

notsofastbuddy 9y ago

How is DNM usage not an actual currency?

tunetine 9y ago
DNM is something I had to look up. I don't have to explain why going to the store and being able to purchase something with Bitcoin is not the same as buying drugs on the black market.

throwaway0255 9y ago

To what extent do you think the value of bitcoin is driven by its use as a black market exchange / laundering tool? I suspect virtually all of it. People dismiss this viewpoint because they attribute it to Silk Road type activities, which can't explain the scale, but what I'm talking about is millionaires and billionaires funneling wealth out of China etc. One thing that's certain is that bitcoin isn't really a currency. When you pay with bitcoin, the value is tied to and converted to USD, and the price paid is tied to USD. Bitcoin isn't the currency in those transactions, USD is. Bitcoin is more like a decentralized anonymous Western Union than it is a currency. I also don't understand what proponents think the endgame is for bitcoin as an investment-grade asset. Everyone who buys some just becomes the world's first trillionaires, and we become a 2-tiered society of people who bought bitcoin and people who didn't? Bitcoin might have some serious world-changing implications, but I seriously doubt it being an investable asset is one of them.