5 ms·

> Marginally higher costs that inevitably pass to consumers Massive statement that I sincerely doubt is true (increased revenue off of increased liquidity driv

• netcan 13y ago
  I don't understand this statement. It's controversial that an extra cost attached to every transaction in a big wide chunk of the economy will bring up costs to consumers. It's not very different to sales tax.
  • wdewind 13y ago
    No, it's completely different from sales tax because while the company will have slightly increased costs (usually ~2.5%), they will also move significantly more inventory which will allow quicker reinvestment cycles, and thus more growth. This is the value of credit/debt in general: assuming everyone trusts everyone else transaction volume can greatly increase. And that trust comes from the credit card companies.
    • runeks 13y ago
      I think the point is that if we can replace credit cards with a no-fee payment method, merchants will save 3% on every transaction. Of course, it has to be as easy for the consumer as credit cards (which I think Bitcoin can become).
      • wdewind 13y ago
        No, the point is that credit cards give people a line of credit, which increases overall liquidity. People buy things on credit cards they wouldn't otherwise be able to. When they buy that thing on a credit card, the company selling that thing gets the money earlier, and can thus take it and buy more from their suppliers and so on and so forth. Bitcoin removes overall liquidity, by behaving like cash. The merchant may save 3% on bitcoin transactions, but they will have fewer transactions.