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Re: What problem does Bitcoin solve?
by
rjcesq
on 01/07/2012, 20:09:00 UTC
Konichua,

Thanks for your reply.  Let me break them down:

"Decentralized, so governments cannot print more."
What you're talking about here is inflation resistance. Hayek's currency competition. The question is whether there is demand.  Certainly looking at the price of gold recently suggest that there is though it may be more people seeing gold as a good investment and not necessary running from the dollar.  Generally people are stupid.  Especially when it comes to math.  http://www.economis[Suspicious link removed]m/node/21557801?fsrc=scn%2Ftw_ec%2Fsomething_doesn_t_add_up  Most people don't view the dollar as decreasing in value so much as the price of gas going up.  If they don't know what the problem is, can the really be thought to seek a solution?

"Little or no transaction fees."
USD has no transaction fees, though it requires we be in person. I think what you really mean is low transaction costs. While the future may hold this, at present, for the vast majority of consumers, the transaction costs are in the conceptualization of Bitcoin, the difficulty in conversion and the transaction costs associated with exchanging fiat currency for Bitcoin. Certainly low transaction cost are good for small payments, but the mental transaction cost usually have been the impediment to adoption of micropayments.

"Secure with military grade encryption."
Obviously a feature but is insecurity really a feature?  My credit card is fraud protected for anything over $50.  I generally don't worry about money being stolen out of my bank account without some means of recovery.  I don't think most people will view this as a problem needing to be solved.  Reasonable security is ...well ...reasonable.

"Easily divisible."
Is this really a problem? If I have $1000 in my bank account, I can write checks for $700, $200, $118.27, etc....It's a feature of digital cash that physical cash doesn't have (I have to get someone to exchange it) but it doesn't seem to be a problem online.

I'm not trying to shoot down your suggestion, just get a conversation going.

Thanks,

Jason