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You mean less interested in using it as a way to profit from speculation. As a currency it is not as critical that the value only goes up. A person or merchan

You mean less interested in using it as a way to profit from speculation. As a currency it is not as critical that the value only goes up. A person or merchant receiving bitcoins can easily convert them out to USDs and still lose less in fees than the same transaction would cost compared to accepting a credit card or debit card payment. For example, BTC -> USD at most exchanges is around half a percent.

georgemcbay 15y ago
"As a currency it is not as critical that the value only goes up." True, but to be a practical currency it is critical that the value remains relatively stable. A currency capable of dropping from $1000 USD to $150 USD in a very short time is clearly not stable.
codexon 15y ago
This is unfortunately untrue. Bitcoin has been subject to huge 30% swings in a matter of minutes.
deleted 15y ago
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KaeseEs 15y ago
Well, no. Currencies as we know them are not only for exchange, but also are supposed to be reasonable stores of value. If a currency loses 85% of its worth in a period of weeks, it has failed at this fundamental task. Now, for merchants this might not seem to matter, as they might be able to always convert bitcoins to a real currency immediately and never hold them long enough for depreciation to matter, but if the currency is excessively volatile there will never be a buyer at the exchange besides speculators, which prevents the currency from ever being really useful.
Symmetry 15y ago
It sounds like Bitcoin is doing much better in the "Medium of Exchange" side of the money coin than the "Store of Value" side.
- wmf 15y ago
  Which is not saying much, because if you try to avoid volatility by doing a USD->BTC->USD transaction you get hit with fees that are almost as much as credit cards, not to mention the complexity.
rsynnott 15y ago
> As a currency it is not as critical that the value only goes up. Not just not critical, highly undesirable.

georgemcbay 15y ago

"As a currency it is not as critical that the value only goes up." True, but to be a practical currency it is critical that the value remains relatively stable. A currency capable of dropping from $1000 USD to $150 USD in a very short time is clearly not stable.

codexon 15y ago

This is unfortunately untrue. Bitcoin has been subject to huge 30% swings in a matter of minutes.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

KaeseEs 15y ago

Well, no. Currencies as we know them are not only for exchange, but also are supposed to be reasonable stores of value. If a currency loses 85% of its worth in a period of weeks, it has failed at this fundamental task. Now, for merchants this might not seem to matter, as they might be able to always convert bitcoins to a real currency immediately and never hold them long enough for depreciation to matter, but if the currency is excessively volatile there will never be a buyer at the exchange besides speculators, which prevents the currency from ever being really useful.

Symmetry 15y ago

It sounds like Bitcoin is doing much better in the "Medium of Exchange" side of the money coin than the "Store of Value" side.

wmf 15y ago
Which is not saying much, because if you try to avoid volatility by doing a USD->BTC->USD transaction you get hit with fees that are almost as much as credit cards, not to mention the complexity.

rsynnott 15y ago

> As a currency it is not as critical that the value only goes up. Not just not critical, highly undesirable.