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Virtual goods like Reddit gold seem like an obvious opportunity to accept bitcoin. There's no marginal cost, so you don't have to worry so much about the price

by jere 14y ago

Virtual goods like Reddit gold seem like an obvious opportunity to accept bitcoin. There's no marginal cost, so you don't have to worry so much about the price of BTC plummeting one day.

nwh 14y ago
The price is converted from USD and updated automatically. There's no risk from moving exchange rates.
- jere 14y ago
  You're saying Reddit gets USD instantly? I guess coin base is the one taking the risk? Maybe I am misunderstanding.
  - mahyarm 14y ago
    I'm guessing it's being used as an exchanged medium to do in within seconds. (Currency->Bitcoin)->(Bitcoin->USD)->(Reddit Bank Account).
  - mynameishere 14y ago
    When you trade money on forex, you lose the difference between the bid and ask (the spread). Between USD and EUR, the spread is tight, and banks use this to profit when you change money there, as most people don't have forex accounts. This is probably how bitcoin operations make money, as the spread (I'm guessing) is gigantic and volatile.
malandrew 14y ago
The most obvious opportunity IMHO is a country with a country collapsing due to hyperinflation. Had Brazil suffered from inertial inflation today instead of the early 1990s, lots of people would have adopted BitCoin and the administration of Fernando Henrique Cardoso would never have had to introduce the Unidade Real de Valor under the Plano Real. There must be a startup opportunity in simply creating a system that can be rapidly introduced and be communicated from person to person virally in a country with a failing currency. I'm curious it possible for someone, or some investment fund, with enough cash to distort some countries currency enough to destabilize it enough to get the citizens of that country to dump the destabilized currency in favor of BitCoin.
networked 14y ago
While Facebook wouldn't allow it on their site a social game accepting BTC for in-game purchases would be a great fit for this model, provided there's a significant overlap between people who play social games and people who use bitcoin. If that is not the case such a game could serve as a subversive tool to get people who are into social games into bitcoin or a double subversive tool to get people already into bitcoin into social games.

by jere 14y ago

Virtual goods like Reddit gold seem like an obvious opportunity to accept bitcoin. There's no marginal cost, so you don't have to worry so much about the price of BTC plummeting one day.

nwh 14y ago

The price is converted from USD and updated automatically. There's no risk from moving exchange rates.

jere 14y ago
You're saying Reddit gets USD instantly? I guess coin base is the one taking the risk? Maybe I am misunderstanding.
- mahyarm 14y ago
  I'm guessing it's being used as an exchanged medium to do in within seconds. (Currency->Bitcoin)->(Bitcoin->USD)->(Reddit Bank Account).
- mynameishere 14y ago
  When you trade money on forex, you lose the difference between the bid and ask (the spread). Between USD and EUR, the spread is tight, and banks use this to profit when you change money there, as most people don't have forex accounts. This is probably how bitcoin operations make money, as the spread (I'm guessing) is gigantic and volatile.

malandrew 14y ago

The most obvious opportunity IMHO is a country with a country collapsing due to hyperinflation. Had Brazil suffered from inertial inflation today instead of the early 1990s, lots of people would have adopted BitCoin and the administration of Fernando Henrique Cardoso would never have had to introduce the Unidade Real de Valor under the Plano Real. There must be a startup opportunity in simply creating a system that can be rapidly introduced and be communicated from person to person virally in a country with a failing currency. I'm curious it possible for someone, or some investment fund, with enough cash to distort some countries currency enough to destabilize it enough to get the citizens of that country to dump the destabilized currency in favor of BitCoin.

networked 14y ago

While Facebook wouldn't allow it on their site a social game accepting BTC for in-game purchases would be a great fit for this model, provided there's a significant overlap between people who play social games and people who use bitcoin. If that is not the case such a game could serve as a subversive tool to get people who are into social games into bitcoin or a double subversive tool to get people already into bitcoin into social games.