And because it's stable and predictable, it acts as an *international settlement system*,
Bitcoin is neither stable, nor predictable, if it's less volatile than altcoins, it doesn't mean that it's price isn't the problem for people who want to use it as a currency. Of course Bitcoin is very likely to grow in long term, but short term value is very important for a
currency, you don't want to receive something that is likely to lose 5-10% of its value at any moment.
But the transaction fees are killing me!
- Many cryptocurrency users recognize the financial and human costs of ledger transparency and mutability in the existing financial system, but didn't realize that the cost of immutability in a cryptocurrency could be the same or higher. Consider that correspondent banking is complex and costly, but those costs are absorbed by everyone who participates in the financial system (mostly taxpayers). At the moment Bitcoin users subsidize the current financial system through their taxes while also incurring the costs of their Bitcoin transactions, so the pain is naturally doubled. Users in different countries will also experience different transaction cost pain points, and some people will leave in search of something else to buy their coffee with. Sorry, there's no such thing as a free lunch, and billionaires that have been paying thousands to keep their transactions private in the existing banking system have no problem outbidding you on your next transfer, and in fact will likely have more trust in Bitcoin as the cost of using it increases. User behavior will update accordingly, and people will really "become their own bank".
Immutability is worth the price only when you really need it, otherwise you are just burning your money (and a lot of money) when you "buy your coffee" with Bitcoin. Right now transaction fees are so high that Bitcoin can't be considered a currency, but instead it should be called an asset, "digital gold", "immutable storage of value", etc.
I agree. These days when the price of bitcoin is high, transaction fees have also gone higher. It is impractical to use bitcoin for day to day purchases. But, of course, bitcoin is still a currency, a virtual one. However, it would be best to use bitcoin only when the real need arises. What now? Bitcoin is best used as an investment. Instead of wasting a great deal of money through transaction fees, we better earn additional income by holding on to it and selling it when its value goes higher.