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I'm using it as a currency. Compared to PayPal it's heaven - there are no weird rules about to whom you can send money and when and what for, it's much easier t

I'm using it as a currency. Compared to PayPal it's heaven - there are no weird rules about to whom you can send money and when and what for, it's much easier to use (you don't have to spend weeks to confirm your account, wait for credit card bills, fill out a thousand forms, etc.) and transactions are free, even international ones. Another bonus is that all accounts are publicly visible, so before donating to someone you can check how they're doing and decide whether to donate or not. P.S. Comparing it to banks... doesn't really make sense. It's like comparing the Internet not to a telephone, but to a telegraph. That's why I used PayPal.

fat0wl 13y ago
But if you're using it as a currency how do you value it? Do you literally let people pay you 1 Bitcoin for $500 worth of merchandise? Also your telegraph analogy is something I've seen in several places and doesn't seem to mean anything. Plus I'm not really comparing Bitcoins to bank I'm more curious about the viability of a pump-and-dump system with a finite amount of units. If it's all based on speculation who is ever gonna spend the stuff? The logical point I keep ending at is that you need a buyer. AS SOON as it starts to dip down, everyone will smell "crash" and then how do you sell them? The bubble bursts. From then on I think 1 of 2 things will happen. 1. The system will completely fail in marvelous ways as the parties with large stake in it writhe in agony. 2. The value will reach a resting point and become ultra-stable because people will cease to believe in speculation for infinite profit margins.
- psionski 13y ago
  The merchants have their prices fixed in USD, when I pay Coinbase tells me how much Bitcoins I should send to transfer the equivalent of say $10 and then they directly convert it to the merchant's preferred currency and deposit it at their bank account. This insulates the merchants from the price swings completely, which is cool for now, but I don't think will be needed later. I'm aware of option 1), but I'm focusing on option 2), which is possible even if people don't stop speculating - the national currencies are pretty stable even though the exchange rates are only based on speculation. I believe this is just a question of volume and widespread adoption, which is happening for XBT with the recent large investments in many Bitcoin start-ups, so there's hope :)

fat0wl 13y ago

But if you're using it as a currency how do you value it? Do you literally let people pay you 1 Bitcoin for $500 worth of merchandise? Also your telegraph analogy is something I've seen in several places and doesn't seem to mean anything. Plus I'm not really comparing Bitcoins to bank I'm more curious about the viability of a pump-and-dump system with a finite amount of units. If it's all based on speculation who is ever gonna spend the stuff? The logical point I keep ending at is that you need a buyer. AS SOON as it starts to dip down, everyone will smell "crash" and then how do you sell them? The bubble bursts. From then on I think 1 of 2 things will happen. 1. The system will completely fail in marvelous ways as the parties with large stake in it writhe in agony. 2. The value will reach a resting point and become ultra-stable because people will cease to believe in speculation for infinite profit margins.

psionski 13y ago
The merchants have their prices fixed in USD, when I pay Coinbase tells me how much Bitcoins I should send to transfer the equivalent of say $10 and then they directly convert it to the merchant's preferred currency and deposit it at their bank account. This insulates the merchants from the price swings completely, which is cool for now, but I don't think will be needed later. I'm aware of option 1), but I'm focusing on option 2), which is possible even if people don't stop speculating - the national currencies are pretty stable even though the exchange rates are only based on speculation. I believe this is just a question of volume and widespread adoption, which is happening for XBT with the recent large investments in many Bitcoin start-ups, so there's hope :)