We should care less about offline stores/restaurants accepting bitcoin
While it is maybe "feels cool" when an offline restaurant chain, or a gas station or some other store starts accepting bitcoins, I think we should not forget that bitcoin is an *online* currency. I even think of it as "liberty reserve, but much better".
Basically, there are these reasons:
1. Bitcoin is not meant to be used offline, in stores, not even so much on mobile devices (which would work, but not as good as on PCs). It *is* however, a great and unique online currency, with some great qualities, like speed, low transaction fees, anonymity (sort of). This is what it should be used as. And instead of putting our time on trying to make it something it's not, and trying to get offline retailers to use it, we should spend more time on promoting it online, where it is at its best. Are there any stores that use Liberty Reserve offline? No, because it wasn't meant for that!
2. Using bitcoin in offline locations is very problematic technically. If you go to buy lunch, they don't want to wait for 10 minutes until your transaction confirms. They don't either want to check the market price all the time and adjust their prices, which, as opposed to online shops can be printed on papers and boards. Do you reprint them all the time then?
Most of "normal" shops don't have secure enough setups anyway, and wallet stealings and such things would be a great problem if you could pay by bitcoin in every restaurant.
The only thing we will achieve by accepting bitcoins offline is people starting to believe that bitcoin is slow, unsecure and plain pain in the ass. Which it is, when used offline!
3. There is no inherent *reason* to use bitcoin offline. Are you trying to achieve anonymity when paying for your lunch? Pay with cash, much easier. Transaction fees? Pay with cash. Or maybe are you trying to eat lunch in a restaurant that's on the other side of the globe? Well then you've got bigger problems
So while by promoting bitcoin online we are actually making the world better and simpler, by promoting it in offline stores, we are just doing so because "bitcoin is cool".
So I say, stick to online businesses, and put all the effort into promoting it there! Like discounts for bitcoin payments, bitcoins for charity, and such and such!
Basically, there are these reasons:
1. Bitcoin is not meant to be used offline, in stores, not even so much on mobile devices (which would work, but not as good as on PCs). It *is* however, a great and unique online currency, with some great qualities, like speed, low transaction fees, anonymity (sort of). This is what it should be used as. And instead of putting our time on trying to make it something it's not, and trying to get offline retailers to use it, we should spend more time on promoting it online, where it is at its best. Are there any stores that use Liberty Reserve offline? No, because it wasn't meant for that!
2. Using bitcoin in offline locations is very problematic technically. If you go to buy lunch, they don't want to wait for 10 minutes until your transaction confirms. They don't either want to check the market price all the time and adjust their prices, which, as opposed to online shops can be printed on papers and boards. Do you reprint them all the time then?
Most of "normal" shops don't have secure enough setups anyway, and wallet stealings and such things would be a great problem if you could pay by bitcoin in every restaurant.
The only thing we will achieve by accepting bitcoins offline is people starting to believe that bitcoin is slow, unsecure and plain pain in the ass. Which it is, when used offline!
3. There is no inherent *reason* to use bitcoin offline. Are you trying to achieve anonymity when paying for your lunch? Pay with cash, much easier. Transaction fees? Pay with cash. Or maybe are you trying to eat lunch in a restaurant that's on the other side of the globe? Well then you've got bigger problems
So while by promoting bitcoin online we are actually making the world better and simpler, by promoting it in offline stores, we are just doing so because "bitcoin is cool".
So I say, stick to online businesses, and put all the effort into promoting it there! Like discounts for bitcoin payments, bitcoins for charity, and such and such!