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Microtransactions don't need to go on the blockchain.
by javert 11y ago
Microtransactions don't need to go on the blockchain.
- tveita 11y agoMore to the point, they don't need to use Bitcoin at all.
- brighton36 11y agoHow would you transfer micropayments if not Bitcoin? I don't believe there are any other solutions that don't require an inordinate burden on all persons involved...
- aliakhtar 11y agoSimply replace bitcoin with USD in ChangeTip, and set a minimum withdrawal amount, such as $1.
- ryanlol 11y agoTransferring USD (except in some fairly rare scenarios) is incredibly difficult and time consuming, much more so than bitcoins.
- aliakhtar 11y agoIt isn't hard to PayPal someone $1. Paypal is free for up to a certain balance.
- ryanlol 11y agoBy doing that you aren't transferring 1 USD, but you are transferring 1 paypal "usd". And having two parties create paypal accounts and go through all the necessary verification steps to actually do that is most definitely hard.
- aliakhtar 11y agoAs opposed to creating changetip accounts, coinbase accounts, giving them your id and complete personal info, paying exchange fees, paying txn fees, installing bitcoin, waiting for confirmations, being exposed to volatility, etc.
- ryanlol 11y agoYou're talking about using bitcoins to transfer USD. Bitcoin provides a good way to transfer bitcoins between people, USD doesn't have a similar mechanism.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- aliakhtar 11y agoEven for a bitcoin to bitcoin transfer, you need 1) a changetip account, 2) verifying it, 3) downloading bitcoin client + installing it, 4) understanding wallet security. Much less work than paypal accounts (which most people have at this point, anyway). Plus, bitcoin is not much use unless its converted to fiat.
- ryanlol 11y agoIf you really want to use changetip, sure. There's no need to download or install a bitcoin client when options such as blockchain.info and xapo are available. Wallet security is pretty much the same you'd be practicing with your bank accounts, which you pretty much need to actually utilize paypal (And to be honest, sometimes to get bitcoins too). Paypal barely has enough users worldwide to cover half of US population, so most people definitely don't have it. Of course bitcoin has even less users. Pretty much 100% of my income is in bitcoins, about 90% of my expenses are paid for in bitcoins. I use bitcoins to pay for flights, groceries, rent and so on. Of course my situation is rather unique, but it does go to prove that bitcoins aren't completely useless by themselves.
- davidgerard 11y agoCorrection: they can't go on the blockchain, as it doesn't scale. Microtransactions were much-advocated by proponents as a Bitcoin use case for many years, until it became clear that wasn't feasible.