Quote from: bitcoinBull on June 27, 2011, 12:16:52 AM

Quote from: Nagle on June 26, 2011, 11:32:04 PM

I tend to agree.

That's not the real problem, though. The real problem is that almost nobody is actually using Bitcoins as a currency. The speculators are playing a zero-sum game, and there's little motivation for anyone to use Bitcoins in a payment system. In fact, the volatility from speculation is a dis-incentive for merchants to accept Bitcoins.

BTC is like any speculative asset: Its only zero-sum if it goes back to zero. If it stays high its considered wealth creation, not zero-sum.

I agree with you that merchants are at a disadvantage. That's why its obvious that bitcoin, a floating currency, will probably remain as a speculative value storage and transfer system more akin to gold and silver. Also plainly clear that merchant activity is not the economic activity supporting the price of bitcoin, but the exploding volume of trading which occurs on the exchanges.

Maybe it will also succeed along the lines of a conventional currency or micropayments system, maybe not. But a lack of merchants says little about the health of the economy. The growth in volume of trading on the exchanges does.

How does trading volume translate into health of the bitcoin economy? If that trading volume is based on speculation and not trade, isn't it liable to collapse at any moment? This is not a rhetorical question, I am really asking because I don't understand the statement.