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The more I read about it the more Bitcoin reminds me of the California gold rush. Bitcoin's current price is based on pure speculation, it's useless as an actu

The more I read about it the more Bitcoin reminds me of the California gold rush. Bitcoin's current price is based on pure speculation, it's useless as an actual currency at the moment. What happens to places like this when the value crashes?

freejulian 9y ago
Why do you think it's useless as a currency? I've noticed "We accept bitcoin" signs more and more frequently. I've also used it to pay friends who live abroad. I don't think you've actually ever used bitcoin but apparently you have plenty of opinions.
- dvlsg 9y ago
  I've seen companies dropping support for it more and more frequently, too. Stripe, for example.
  - freejulian 9y ago
    Wow, you named one. Congrats. I'm referring more to small businesses. To name a few I've seen: A bed and breakfast I stayed at in Tulum, a cellphone repair shop not far from my home, a small theater also near my home. Bitcoin has better characteristics than the USD. If people continue to see that, it'll succeed. There's of course an element of speculation when buying bitcoin -- I'm hoping other people see value in a currency which can't be manipulated by governments, can't be confiscated, can't be censored, has a known supply, can transfer instantly anywhere in the world, and anyone can open an 'account' with. To quote Julian Assange: "Bitcoin is the real Occupy Wallstreet".
    - Kevin_S 9y ago
      Do you live in California? Cause that would explain things.
    - WorldMaker 9y ago
      Stripe is an entire payment network, which means many websites lost Bitcoin support when Stripe left. It's a bit more than just "one". I think Steam dropping Bitcoin support is a particularly useful canary as well. Valve said that the usage they saw of Bitcoin was relatively high (a lot of people invested in Bitcoin like videogames, to no ones surprise), but the exchange volatility and increasingly slow transaction times got to be enough that Valve was more often than not losing too much money on purchases by the time Bitcoins were exchanged for USD.
- fgonzag 9y ago
  How can a currency function that can only process 200 transactions per minute globally? And if you think the lightning network is going to work, I have some snake oil to sell you

freejulian 9y ago

Why do you think it's useless as a currency? I've noticed "We accept bitcoin" signs more and more frequently. I've also used it to pay friends who live abroad. I don't think you've actually ever used bitcoin but apparently you have plenty of opinions.

dvlsg 9y ago
I've seen companies dropping support for it more and more frequently, too. Stripe, for example.
- freejulian 9y ago
  Wow, you named one. Congrats. I'm referring more to small businesses. To name a few I've seen: A bed and breakfast I stayed at in Tulum, a cellphone repair shop not far from my home, a small theater also near my home. Bitcoin has better characteristics than the USD. If people continue to see that, it'll succeed. There's of course an element of speculation when buying bitcoin -- I'm hoping other people see value in a currency which can't be manipulated by governments, can't be confiscated, can't be censored, has a known supply, can transfer instantly anywhere in the world, and anyone can open an 'account' with. To quote Julian Assange: "Bitcoin is the real Occupy Wallstreet".
  - Kevin_S 9y ago
    Do you live in California? Cause that would explain things.
  - WorldMaker 9y ago
    Stripe is an entire payment network, which means many websites lost Bitcoin support when Stripe left. It's a bit more than just "one". I think Steam dropping Bitcoin support is a particularly useful canary as well. Valve said that the usage they saw of Bitcoin was relatively high (a lot of people invested in Bitcoin like videogames, to no ones surprise), but the exchange volatility and increasingly slow transaction times got to be enough that Valve was more often than not losing too much money on purchases by the time Bitcoins were exchanged for USD.
fgonzag 9y ago
How can a currency function that can only process 200 transactions per minute globally? And if you think the lightning network is going to work, I have some snake oil to sell you