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comment by b_b
b_b  ·  3219 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What will the price of Bitcoin be one year from today?

    ...these people didn't understand the underlying technology, they didn't care about the politics. They just wanted something that was cheaper and faster.

Unless and until this is the case everywhere, bitcoin will never be anything.

Who the hell understands how the internet works, or the politics of free information? Probably close to 0% of internet users. Ideals only go so far with people.





thenewgreen  ·  3219 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I have a good friend that's a venture capitalist that specializes in the crypto currency space. (Edit: you met him when he was running in the trail behind my house) Most of the businesses they back aren't US-based, in fact I don't think any of them are. The businesses they back are interested in facilitating remittance, often in the b2b space. This isn't "sexy" in that you can't buy a slice of pizza with BTC via these businesses but you can send money from a Mongolian oil company to a Saudi refinery via BTC by the millions at a fraction of the normal cost. It's these types of uses that will legitimize BTC. The pizza will come later. This isn't the route the "believers" envisioned, but it's happening. As such, I'm bullish.

wasoxygen  ·  3219 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    Unless and until this is the case everywhere, bitcoin will never be anything

If by "everywhere" you mean "in many places," and by "anything" you mean "something approaching mainstream" I agree that these are necessary, though not sufficient, conditions for widespread use. Bitcoin is already cheaper and faster than other options available in much of the world.

I think regulation is an important barrier. Bitcoin businesses in the U.S. don't have clear rules to go by, and an entrepreneuer has to consider the risk of being made an example.

The internet is a scaled-up version of sending someone a postcard: clearly protected and untaxed communication. When the stuff moving is a kind of money, there are (for good reasons) far more legal hurdles.