Quote from: justusranvier on January 03, 2014, 01:46:15 PM

Quote from: QuestionAuthority on January 02, 2014, 01:23:27 AM

That concept "the rest of the world will save us" really doesn't seem to be working anymore. I think it's not working because most of the worlds governments/regulatory systems are as dysfunctional as the US system.

You've got it wrong: the rest of the world will save themselves, and Bitcoin is going to help them do it.

The dysfunction of other world governments is an advantage here. Outside the G7 governments aren't nearly as capable of maintaining the illusion of benevolence.

People in Latin America, Asia, and Africa are very comfortable operating in the informal economy and there's no particular stigma toward doing it. In fact, most of the world's population operates in the informal economy as a matter of survival. Outside certain pampered population in Europe and North America, you won't find people declaring that Bitcoin has to shed its black market enabling properties in order to reach mainstream adoption - those will be its primary selling points for the other six billion people in the world.

That still agrees with what I said. I don't see the need to rely on the rest of the world to save Bitcoin in the nations that clearly Bitcoin is coming under attack. You do realize that 36% of the worlds population, almost 3 billion people, live in China, the USA and India, right? It's nice that Bitcoin can conquer the black market in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago or Uzbekistan but that will not save almost half of the worlds population. Without the big three it's going to be difficult to replace Western Union as a value transfer system.

You're also missing the concept that Bitcoin is a financial tool for transferring wealth between people. We need to exist in those places where Bitcoin can easily be purchased and used. Of course, Bitcoin needs to be used by the poor people of Africa using cell phones. They have a great need for it. Just don't expect them to be capable of large purchases of Bitcoins when the price is outside their reach. Satoshi's will seem like millions to them.