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Originally Posted by bootsnixon
Thanks for the responses Itse, AFC and Topfive.
Itse, you cite transaction speed, price and btc value instability as deterrants. All good points. You forced me to do research!
If I may use El Salvador as an example, they encouraged their residents and businesses to use Chivo bitcoin wallets. All transactions between Chivo wallets are instant and free. Chivo wallet operates on the Bitcoin Lightning Network ( or maybe Algorand blockchain or maybe entirely off blockchain with simple accounting software. Internet research is hard,lol.) The Lightning Network is able to perform in the millions of transactions per second. For reference, a cursory search indicated Visa handles 65,000 TPS.
As to the price fluctuation, I agree, it is a problem. But it seems in theory to me, if (and that's a big IF) bitcoin adoption continues, price fluctuation should stabilize. Would you agree with that?
AFC, I'm not sure I understand your comment. Isn't divisability a good thing? If you had one huge potato to feed your family of four but no knife, you could only feed one person. If you divided the big potato into four with a knife, you could feed all four. You would still only have one potato though. Could you expand on your thought please?
Topfive, agreed that real estate has strong use. I tried to explain upthread that Bitcoin has utility as an inflation hedge. Jason14 did a better job of showing crypto's utility as a currency. I don't think we've discussed enough the ability of crypto to bring banking to people currently unable to access it. I think it has the potential to have strong utility to people outside of first world countries.
As to Bitcoin's old tech being surpassed by newer crypto's I agree. Bitcoin has some advantages though. Being first to market, it is currently the most adopted crypto. It is one of very few that is finite. Most importantly, it is, by far, the most decentralized crypto.
I think it boils down to a decision. Does one take advantage of Bitcoin's unique advantages and try to improve upon it's old tech (Lightning Network, layered transactions, atomic swaps, etc)? Or does one choose a newer tech cypto or build their own blockchain crypto? I think the answer will be different for many different people.
It seems clear we are moving to digital currencies in one manner or the other.
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If you have a potato that feeds one person and five hungry people they will bid on that potato and the price goes up, but if that one potato can be magically divided to feed as many people as you want it no longer has the properties or scarcity of one potato, it has the same property and scarcity of a whole field, region of potato's which is a good thing for the people but not for the farmer, the potato is no longer scarce even though you only have one.
In ancient times people would cut the edges of gold coins to debase the currancy, it was called clipping, but the physical reality of a coin limits how much smaller it can be made before it ceases to exist effectively, bitcoin doesnt have that limit, it can always be divided up, because of that it is effectivelt the same as printing as much as you like, it doesnt matter how much a coin's value goes up if you can just use smaller and smaller portions, it is effectively no different from fiat inflation.