I agree with you of the idea that Bitcoin's doom is going to be energy. In my case, I do think Cryptocurrencies are here to stay, and other approaches like the ones used in ETH2, IOTA, Nano, etc will come to replace PoW.
I think at some point, government is going to ban PoW mining in the same way they ban gasoline based cars or plastic bags.
> The thing is... Bitcoin solves a problem for almost nobody. It's almost entirely a speculative bubble. Citizens of stable countries are almost entirely better off with traditional currencies
That's the key: citizens of stable countries are just speculating, but for people of not so stable countries (Mexico, Argentina, China, among several others) where people just do not trust their government & their banking system, Cryptocurrencies deffinitely have value.
In my case, I have part of my portfolio on Bitcoins, because there is no easy way to open a USD account in Mexico, and storing USD or gold is just not practial. And with our stupid president having 4 more years to go, the country is quickly going to a deep recesion. I don't doubt that when a recession come, the government will "lock" the banks to prevent a "cash run" as they did before (and as it has happened in other countries like Venezuela and Greece)
>but for people of not so stable countries (Mexico, Argentina, China, among several others) where people just do not trust their government & their banking system, Cryptocurrencies deffinitely have value
Fair point, but curious in how many shops in those countries you can buys groceries or how many landlords take their rent in Crypto? Because if you can't use it to feed or house yourself then what's the point of owning it other than going back to BTC's only real use cases so far: storing it for speculation, drug trafficking and ransomeware payments.
Plus, can you imagine paying a $26 transaction fee every time you buy a $0.30 loaf of bread with bitcoin?
You are right about the price of bitcoin transactions. I misused bitcoins when referring to cryptocurrencies. I actually dont have BTC but eth and other cryptoassets more sensible for trading (my initial comment about BTC inefficiencies might give a clue).
In Cuba there are 2 coins accepted CUC and CUP . The CUC was more or less pegged to the dollar and people preferred it due to distrust of their government.
It happens. And cryptocurrencies will continue to evolve to fill up that trust less requirement.
> Bitcoin is a store of value. When they need money to buy groceries or pay rent they will sell an amount of bitcoin.
Seems like a great way to lose any stored value in transaction fees. Transaction fees are $26USD right now, which is likely more than what most pay in those countries for their groceries.
It hasn’t failed at being anything. Bitcoin is still very new to this world. Just because at this moment it isn’t realistic to use as a currency does not mean it has failed.
It's been around for 12 years and nothing even close to a killer app has come and it's one promise of utility (as a currency) has proven to not be scalable.
A killer app would prove utility. Something that shows that it has use outside of the ideological and invested. In other words, something that someone on the outside can use. The internet is decentralized and produced "killer apps" that did just that almost immediately. People used the internet and their use of it only increased over time.
Cryptocurrency cannot sustain that. DApps are effectively useless. Blockchains are expensive and environmentally destructive merkle trees and do nothing that git couldn't do faster and easier and cheaper. Decentralization has not proven itself to be useful at all to anyone.
A killer app doesn't even have to be complicated, it only has to be useful. Nothing about cryptocurrency is useful. It is an ouroboros of busywork and self-justification.
So I would ask, why wouldn't a new technology need to demonstrate utility?
You're making the bold assumptions that landlords or grocery stores accept bitcoin in those countries.
Do they really? Or are you fantasizing a Cyberpunk future where they would?
Because fantasies are cheap, but food and shelter is not, and the ones who make the bread might be more into the cash in hand right now rather than waiting for your BTC transaction to clear.
> You're making the bold assumptions that landlords or grocery stores accept bitcoin in those countries.
The parent is clearly not making that statement.
Parent said ".. they will sell an amount of Bitcoin" which can be done either through exchanges or just as easily peer-to-peer through platforms like LocalBitcoin. If you have Bitcoin in a scenario like that, most definitely will not be a problem.
Pretty sure if you have your money tied into bitcoin, as the people above suggest as the killer use of BTC, then having your internet cut off easily becomes your biggest problem.
How else are you gonna spend your crypto to buy food or pay for shelter or pay for travel or smugglers to get you out of the country?
Crypto would be great if it could be used 100% offline, like tap your phones via NFC, and boom, coins transferred, here's your bread.
I think at some point, government is going to ban PoW mining in the same way they ban gasoline based cars or plastic bags.
> The thing is... Bitcoin solves a problem for almost nobody. It's almost entirely a speculative bubble. Citizens of stable countries are almost entirely better off with traditional currencies
That's the key: citizens of stable countries are just speculating, but for people of not so stable countries (Mexico, Argentina, China, among several others) where people just do not trust their government & their banking system, Cryptocurrencies deffinitely have value.
In my case, I have part of my portfolio on Bitcoins, because there is no easy way to open a USD account in Mexico, and storing USD or gold is just not practial. And with our stupid president having 4 more years to go, the country is quickly going to a deep recesion. I don't doubt that when a recession come, the government will "lock" the banks to prevent a "cash run" as they did before (and as it has happened in other countries like Venezuela and Greece)