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Use a different cryptocurrency. Seriously. And I'm not trying to be cheeky. If Bitcoin ends up only being a settlement layer, it'll still be a colossal success

Use a different cryptocurrency. Seriously. And I'm not trying to be cheeky. If Bitcoin ends up only being a settlement layer, it'll still be a colossal success just being a decentralized, supply-limited, uncensorable, world-accessible payment system and store of value. If someone else solves the scaling debacle better, I'll be the first to recommend that normal people switch to it. But it's not easy, and the world is watching Bitcoin. Governments are starting to accept its existence, big financial institutions are starting (just this month) to allow options trading, etc. That stuff is far more important even for other cryptocurrencies than low fees. After six months of no issues with Bitcoin options trading, it's only a matter of time before other cryptocurrencies get the same treatment. That's why we need Bitcoin to be rock steady and predictable, while others can try to solve these tough problems.

noobermin 9y ago
This sounds a hell lot like changing the goal posts.
- rescripting 9y ago
  Does that matter? If you're looking to develop a drug to treat hypertension but end up with Viagra by accident instead, do you throw it away because that wasn't the original goal?
  - TimJYoung 9y ago
    It certainly matters if you've still got a lot of people running around telling anyone that will listen that the drug is a sure-fire cure for hypertension.
    - raugustinus 9y ago
      There's a lot of people in the world running around telling people all kinds of things.
  - rabidrat 9y ago
    If the production of Viagra at scale winds up causing global health problems, then yes, you throw it away.
    - rescripting 9y ago
      This may be straining the metaphor a bit, but I think you underestimate how much individuals want a magic sex pill.
  - he0001 9y ago
    Tell that to the FDA...
- erikpukinskis 9y ago
  No, plenty of us have been saying this for a long time. Here is a HN post from 5 years ago where I say: “even if it's only ever used for politically sensitive transactions, and it never takes off as a consumer payment service, it will be a very big economy” https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5526684#5526972 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5526684#5526972 The goalposts for Bitcoin have always just been “can it sustain its market cap?”
  - fragsworth 9y ago
    Also it's not like everyone you see on the Internet is the same person. Anyone who was hoping for it to replace credit cards didn't understand the system. Lots of other folks have known the limitations of Bitcoin for years and what we're seeing today was totally predictable.
- moduspol 9y ago
  Oh it absolutely is. I'll acknowledge that. If Bitcoin is amazing at 7/12 of the things it set out to do, and sticking to those seven will pave the way for the other five to be done by other cryptocurrencies, that's fair to me.
  - matt4077 9y ago
    Yeah, well.... It would seem "transactions" should be among the things that a currency does well.
    - fooker 9y ago
      Not necessarily. Bags of grain or N cows did not do transactions well. Yet they were successful as currencies for millennia.
      - statguy 9y ago
        times have changed since...
        20after4 9y ago
        I'm pretty sure bags of grain are still a significant unit of value exchange[1]. [1] yep: http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/wheat.aspx http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/wheat.aspx
        fooker 9y ago
        They have, and we have bitcoins instead of bags of grain.
- pentae 9y ago
  To be fair, becoming a quarter trillion dollar store of 'digital gold' is a hell of a pivot.
ojr 9y ago
the velocity of money increases price, look at how the price of litecoin is rising when bitcoin mempool is congested, if Coinbase didnt play politics, Bitcoin Cash will be pumping right now too, decentralized exchanges are coming though in the coming years it will change the whole market dynamic
- moduspol 9y ago
  Exactly. But the critical fight is public acceptance and a lack of government interference. To win that, all Bitcoin needs to do is keep doing what it's doing.
pmorici 9y ago
"Use a different cryptocurrency." I started using Bitcoin Cash instead and I'm loving it. All the good parts about Bitcoin Core w/o the brain dead approach to scaling.
- moduspol 9y ago
  Yep. I expect the fee market alone will drive normal people toward Bitcoin Cash.
  - grubles 9y ago
    Dogecoin has much cheaper fees than Bcash and its block confirmation target is around 1 minute -- roughly an order of magnitude cheaper and faster than Bcash.
    - pmorici 9y ago
      Doge has unlimited inflation it is nothing like Bitcoin Cash.
      - grubles 9y ago
        Bcash is already over-inflated relative to Bitcoin due to its mining algorithm. When the block reward diminishes enough, and fees don't supplant it, Bcash will hard fork to infinite inflation.
        Beejeepa 9y ago
        It's 0.001% over-inflated? So it reaches the 2020 halving earlier, and wins then too.
        grubles 9y ago
        In the ~4 months since its creation, 115,975 Bcash tokens were mined ahead of schedule.
akira2501 9y ago
> If Bitcoin ends up only being a settlement layer, it'll still be a colossal success just being a decentralized, supply-limited, uncensorable, world-accessible payment system and store of value. So, what happens when all the bitcoin are generated and mining is complete?
- moduspol 9y ago
  Mining is still very profitable due to transaction fees.

noobermin 9y ago

This sounds a hell lot like changing the goal posts.

rescripting 9y ago
Does that matter? If you're looking to develop a drug to treat hypertension but end up with Viagra by accident instead, do you throw it away because that wasn't the original goal?
- TimJYoung 9y ago
  It certainly matters if you've still got a lot of people running around telling anyone that will listen that the drug is a sure-fire cure for hypertension.
  - raugustinus 9y ago
    There's a lot of people in the world running around telling people all kinds of things.
- rabidrat 9y ago
  If the production of Viagra at scale winds up causing global health problems, then yes, you throw it away.
  - rescripting 9y ago
    This may be straining the metaphor a bit, but I think you underestimate how much individuals want a magic sex pill.
- he0001 9y ago
  Tell that to the FDA...
erikpukinskis 9y ago
No, plenty of us have been saying this for a long time. Here is a HN post from 5 years ago where I say: “even if it's only ever used for politically sensitive transactions, and it never takes off as a consumer payment service, it will be a very big economy” https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5526684#5526972 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5526684#5526972 The goalposts for Bitcoin have always just been “can it sustain its market cap?”
- fragsworth 9y ago
  Also it's not like everyone you see on the Internet is the same person. Anyone who was hoping for it to replace credit cards didn't understand the system. Lots of other folks have known the limitations of Bitcoin for years and what we're seeing today was totally predictable.
moduspol 9y ago
Oh it absolutely is. I'll acknowledge that. If Bitcoin is amazing at 7/12 of the things it set out to do, and sticking to those seven will pave the way for the other five to be done by other cryptocurrencies, that's fair to me.
- matt4077 9y ago
  Yeah, well.... It would seem "transactions" should be among the things that a currency does well.
  - fooker 9y ago
    Not necessarily. Bags of grain or N cows did not do transactions well. Yet they were successful as currencies for millennia.
    - statguy 9y ago
      times have changed since...
      - 20after4 9y ago
        I'm pretty sure bags of grain are still a significant unit of value exchange[1]. [1] yep: http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/wheat.aspx http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/wheat.aspx
      - fooker 9y ago
        They have, and we have bitcoins instead of bags of grain.
pentae 9y ago
To be fair, becoming a quarter trillion dollar store of 'digital gold' is a hell of a pivot.

ojr 9y ago

the velocity of money increases price, look at how the price of litecoin is rising when bitcoin mempool is congested, if Coinbase didnt play politics, Bitcoin Cash will be pumping right now too, decentralized exchanges are coming though in the coming years it will change the whole market dynamic

moduspol 9y ago
Exactly. But the critical fight is public acceptance and a lack of government interference. To win that, all Bitcoin needs to do is keep doing what it's doing.

pmorici 9y ago

"Use a different cryptocurrency." I started using Bitcoin Cash instead and I'm loving it. All the good parts about Bitcoin Core w/o the brain dead approach to scaling.

moduspol 9y ago
Yep. I expect the fee market alone will drive normal people toward Bitcoin Cash.
- grubles 9y ago
  Dogecoin has much cheaper fees than Bcash and its block confirmation target is around 1 minute -- roughly an order of magnitude cheaper and faster than Bcash.
  - pmorici 9y ago
    Doge has unlimited inflation it is nothing like Bitcoin Cash.
    - grubles 9y ago
      Bcash is already over-inflated relative to Bitcoin due to its mining algorithm. When the block reward diminishes enough, and fees don't supplant it, Bcash will hard fork to infinite inflation.
      - Beejeepa 9y ago
        It's 0.001% over-inflated? So it reaches the 2020 halving earlier, and wins then too.
        grubles 9y ago
        In the ~4 months since its creation, 115,975 Bcash tokens were mined ahead of schedule.

akira2501 9y ago

> If Bitcoin ends up only being a settlement layer, it'll still be a colossal success just being a decentralized, supply-limited, uncensorable, world-accessible payment system and store of value. So, what happens when all the bitcoin are generated and mining is complete?

moduspol 9y ago
Mining is still very profitable due to transaction fees.