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927 points smallerfish | 15 comments | | HN request time: 2.441s | source | bottom
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ks2048 ◴[] No.42925530[source]

Do pro-bitcoin people still talk about goals of bitcoin being a currency that people use daily?

I don't follow it closely, but that idea seems to have faded and now it's just an asset to buy and hold while it magically goes up forever.

replies(12): >>42925658 #>>42925661 #>>42925711 #>>42925713 #>>42925980 #>>42926026 #>>42926151 #>>42926197 #>>42927159 #>>42928125 #>>42928576 #>>42928678 #
1. desumeku ◴[] No.42925658[source]

For daily usage, Bitcoin is simply inferior to Ethereum and other blockchains.

replies(2): >>42925670 #>>42926161 #
2. block_dagger ◴[] No.42925670[source]

That opinion is not shared by those who think Proof of Stake and no ceiling to supply are bugs vs features.

replies(2): >>42925704 #>>42929767 #
3. desumeku ◴[] No.42925704[source]

Those issues are not really relevant when it comes to factors like transaction speeds and the diversity of assets available to transact with, such as stablecoins, as well as DeFi platforms to actually use those assets on.

replies(2): >>42926499 #>>42927029 #
4. LAMike ◴[] No.42926161[source]

You don't really believe that do you? The market disagrees as well

5. verdverm ◴[] No.42926499{3}[source]

When most people hear daily usage, they think groceries, bills and paycheck, not day trading on an exchange, defi or centralized.

In this regard, crypto currency is not really a currency that people can use for their daily lives without worry and risk from volatility

replies(1): >>42926592 #
6. whimsicalism ◴[] No.42926592{4}[source]

yes it is, just use stables. frankly it is a much more convenient way to move money if the other person has it as well

e: and i’m no crypto obsessive really, i don’t think it was usable even 3 years ago but it’s pretty handy now, can easily send $20 in usdc on base or use it to purchase carbon offsets or use it on election/sports betting or use it to purchase deepseek r1 credits…

replies(2): >>42929110 #>>42946519 #
7. bloatedGoat ◴[] No.42927029{3}[source]

If all you care about are transaction speeds then use the lightning network. Instant settlement of bitcoin and much lower fees. There are protocols like Cashu [1] that allow you to transact offline anonymously for no fees and settle on the lightning network.

Why do you need "diversity of assets to transact with"? Go to any store in almost any country and they usually accept a single currency. Maybe in some they take local + USD. You're arguing for something the market doesn't seem to care about outside of speculative trading for fiat gains.

And even if you really want stablecoins they've been added to bitcoin via the lightning network and taproot assets. Tether for example can be used via bitcoin [2]. There's a reason Bitcoin makes up well over 50% of the total crypto market.

----

1. https://cashu.space/

2. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/01/30/tether-brings-i...

replies(1): >>42927104 #
8. desumeku ◴[] No.42927104{4}[source]

You "can" do all these things on BTC. Almost nobody does. All of Tether & USDC usage takes place on other blockchains. The lightning network is notoriously tricky to use and isn't trustless. A diversity of assets enables things like PAXG, an ERC-20 token backed fully by real-world gold, as well as things like tokenized stocks, bonds, and t-bills, the last already existing, and the former surely coming in the near future.

Additionally BTC isn't "over 50% of the market", it's over 50% of the market capitalization, which is a huge difference. BTC doesn't have the raw TX speed to make up 50% of actual market activity.

9. verdverm ◴[] No.42929110{5}[source]

I was emailing rent to my roommate 6+ years ago for zero fees with GPay, it's hard to see it being easier than that.

replies(1): >>42933769 #
10. tim333 ◴[] No.42929767[source]

Proof of Stake etc are a bit irrelevant for daily use. If you want to do something like make a bet on polymarket the newer chains are faster, easier and cheaper than bitcoin or ethereum on the whole. Polymarket uses polygon for example which is a fork off ethereum but it doesn't matter much which such network you use and the bets are denominated in US$. Bitcoin lightning is ok but more awkward to use than polygon et al.

Proof of Stake and no ceiling to supply are important if you are going to hold the thing for decades which is a different issue.

11. whimsicalism ◴[] No.42933769{6}[source]

well, it is. for instance, for my rent rebalancing i have to pay more than $2500 and gpay doesn’t allow that. the fees would be fractional cents.

in fact short of wiring i have not found any service allowing me to send more than that in a day and certainly not with instant deposit

gpay takes 1-5 days to appear in account, i can spend the money i transfer here immediately

replies(1): >>42938139 #
12. verdverm ◴[] No.42938139{7}[source]

Too many malicious actors in crypto for it to become mainstream, sorry, not sorry

The community needs to self police and remove this problem if they ever want me to give it a third chance. There are several other fundamental issues in crypto, so not sure this will be enough on its own to reach mainstream adoption

For example, I don't want my transaction history on a public ledger, encrypted or not

replies(1): >>42938682 #
13. desumeku ◴[] No.42938682{8}[source]

"Crypto needs to self-police and remove malicious actors" and "Crypto needs to stop having a public ledger" are two contradictory actions where achieving one would make the other impossible.

replies(1): >>42943872 #
14. verdverm ◴[] No.42943872{9}[source]

How so? Plenty of private system are fully capable of removing bad actors, if anything they become easier together

15. verdverm ◴[] No.42946519{5}[source]

I already have stable digital dollars in my bank account, why do I need another one that costs me more money to use?