Quote from: Xiaoma on April 15, 2013, 01:36:35 AM

Quote from: Luckybit on April 15, 2013, 01:14:53 AM

Quote from: Xiaoma on April 15, 2013, 01:09:44 AM

Quote from: Red on April 14, 2013, 09:21:19 PM

Quote from: Xiaoma on April 14, 2013, 08:09:53 PM

Why create something targeted at instant transactions (like a Paypal) or to be used as a currency (like the USD) but design it to have the economic behaviour of stock market? That makes no sense. What we see here is that the effort needed to get 10-15 coins today is pretty much the same level of effort and risk that 1 year ago would give you hundred of thousands.

The main problem here is not the fact that early adopters have more, this is fine. The main problem is the sheer scale of the disproportion. We talk about million times more for a comparable risk. People entering the Bitcoin world now risk as much than people entering 1 or 2 years ago.

Xiaoma hit on what I think is the fundamental reason bitcoin will never go mainstream. Some 6 Billion people in the world are much like him. They've never heard of bitcoin, or they've never heard of bitcoin until today. When they show up here they are all going to ask this question over and over again.

"Why should I waste my time and money making you guys really rich? I've got that problem already."

@Xiamo, I can answer your question directly if you'd like, but it would cause a flame war. Probably better to do it in a new thread.

Hint: Bitcoin is not a currency. It is the first commodity ever created by mathematical fiat!

Well.. I think Bitcoin will have a very hard time going mainstream because most people are NOT like me Wink

I only got so late into this because I only found out recently. If I wasn't away from crypto forums for so many years I would be an early adopter too. The only thing I can do now, at the current prices, is to get a dozen coins a month, not more than that. Still, even if I have a net loss so far, I still try to buy more coins because I believe the world needs it. I don't care much about the "getting rich" hype. It is the freedom from central entities control that I value most. Even if I was to lose all my investment on Bitcoin, another crypto-currency will be created that hopefully will have better luck than this one.

Most of the remaining 6 billions don't give a damn about it, to be blunt. They would happily give up all freedom if they were feeling safe and protected. It is the way governments work, and the way humans work.

It's also the way mafias work. That is a protection racket. That kind of political fiat currency is backed by the bullet. People are forced to accept USD or get beat up or killed? That is what we prefer over Bitcoin? We want to go back to that thug mafia style system based around fear, threats and intimidation?

Bitcoin doesn't have the coercion and intimidation. Maybe some hackers will dox you or put a virus on your computer but that is nothing compared to getting bombed and shot at by snipers because you didn't want to spend the USD. The world needs a global alternative and I'm not even considering myself a globalist, but the world needs a global currency done right and Bitcoin is the first global currency to ever exist. It might not be done right, but it's done first, and the people who are early adopters are taking the risk because WE KNOW.

And how you plan to explain that to "common" people? Don't take it personally, but it seem to me you are only trying to preach to the believers...

You don't have to explain anything. You make an offer to the common people which is better than the offer that centralized banking is making. Bitcoin is just the first offer, some people will accept and some will think it's a ponzi scheme or part of the illuminati. The trick is to keep making additional offers until the people figure out it's in their own self interest to diversify. I think the majority of the people claiming Bitcoins and cryptocurrencies are a ponzi scheme are only saying it because of politics. They cannot accept the fact that anarchists can invent something which actually helps the world, or helps the economy, or which could be useful.

If it took anarchists to invent a global currency or to solve a crisis why should we let politics get in the way of the solution? But for people who aren't rational, they'd rather accept failure than accept a libertarian or "anarchist" solution. The fact is, centralized banking doesn't work very well for the middle class.

So anyone middle class can look at their bank accounts and their retirement(or lack of), or their unemployment check or lack of unemployment, or their loan debt, or any other punishing consequence they have received from centralized banking and decide on their own when they get tired of being punished for politically supporting the status quo.

A person like you or me, we don't have to be punished until our graves to figure out that centralized banking isn't really offering us anything worth a damn besides credit and debt. This isn't even about government, there are parts of the government which I agree with or find important. We need an EPA, we need a USDA and the government to provide national security. We need some government regulations. But I don't see how centralized banks or big banks benefit any one of us. The way to convince the common man to be rational is to ask them what the centralized bank and the status quo is doing for them? Tell them to take a hard long look at their life and their prospects and if they don't think Bitcoin is a good alternative then what are they doing to provide the alternative?

It's easy to bash Bitcoin when you're rich and have stocks in big banks but when you're not benefiting but are being punished from the current system then it's really hard not to like Bitcoin. In fact, since when did it make sense to want taxes, debt, and reduced profit over the long term?