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Buying domains (namecheap.com), vpn services (privateinternetaccess.com), hosting (bitvps.com), donating to the EFF, buying a ticket on Virgin Galactic, sending

by corford 13y ago

Buying domains (namecheap.com), vpn services (privateinternetaccess.com), hosting (bitvps.com), donating to the EFF, buying a ticket on Virgin Galactic, sending money to someone else where doing an international bank transfer would be too expensive for the amount involved, receiving micro donations from other people (maybe you run a popular blog or forum). Admittedly, that's not an enormous list of things but it's a start.

pron 13y ago
But other than the international money transfer (which I don't do very often), you can do all of these with money, and it would be much easier, plus you have the option of chargebacks etc.
- corford 13y ago
  True. Although micro payments/donations are more complicated: try donating the USD equivalent of 0.0001BTC using a credit/debit card. Also, paying a supplier with BTC means you don't need to worry about them being hacked and the thieves running off with your card details. Chargebacks are admittedly a benefit you lose.
- Renaud 13y ago
  Chargebacks are a double-edged sword, so much so that a whole class of scams is using them to defraud people of goods and services. It's even worse for the small business if you consider how much money is tied up by the bank/paypal to allow for the charges to be reversed at least a month after payment has gone through and the goods sent. There is a need for cashback, but there are circumstances where having that possibility only causes issues. Transactions in fiduciary money can't be reversed. Bitcoin is more like that. Bitcoin also allows multiple party arrangements where money can be released irreversibly according to various configurations. It allows the implementation of a system similar to an escrow without the escrow having to hold that money (and without requiring a payment for their fee). And maybe you do not transfer money abroad a lot, but a lot of people do, whether it is buying goods and services from abroad, or simply sending money home if you live abroad (that's about 230 million people who live outside of their country of origin according to the UN[1]). Bitcoin also allows micropayments, which is an unsolved problem today since you must have a Credit Card to pay anything online and the fees charged prohibit small payments. And I'm not even talking about being able to accept credit card payment... [1]:http://www.dw.de/more-people-living-abroad-than-ever-says-un-study/a-17083834 http://www.dw.de/more-people-living-abroad-than-ever-says-un...

by corford 13y ago

pron 13y ago

But other than the international money transfer (which I don't do very often), you can do all of these with money, and it would be much easier, plus you have the option of chargebacks etc.

corford 13y ago
True. Although micro payments/donations are more complicated: try donating the USD equivalent of 0.0001BTC using a credit/debit card. Also, paying a supplier with BTC means you don't need to worry about them being hacked and the thieves running off with your card details. Chargebacks are admittedly a benefit you lose.
Renaud 13y ago
Chargebacks are a double-edged sword, so much so that a whole class of scams is using them to defraud people of goods and services. It's even worse for the small business if you consider how much money is tied up by the bank/paypal to allow for the charges to be reversed at least a month after payment has gone through and the goods sent. There is a need for cashback, but there are circumstances where having that possibility only causes issues. Transactions in fiduciary money can't be reversed. Bitcoin is more like that. Bitcoin also allows multiple party arrangements where money can be released irreversibly according to various configurations. It allows the implementation of a system similar to an escrow without the escrow having to hold that money (and without requiring a payment for their fee). And maybe you do not transfer money abroad a lot, but a lot of people do, whether it is buying goods and services from abroad, or simply sending money home if you live abroad (that's about 230 million people who live outside of their country of origin according to the UN[1]). Bitcoin also allows micropayments, which is an unsolved problem today since you must have a Credit Card to pay anything online and the fees charged prohibit small payments. And I'm not even talking about being able to accept credit card payment... [1]:http://www.dw.de/more-people-living-abroad-than-ever-says-un-study/a-17083834 http://www.dw.de/more-people-living-abroad-than-ever-says-un...