As a long-time Bitcoin hodler, I welcome the current development of Bitcoin and find the increasing acceptance great. But the question arises as to whether Bitcoin can still be considered as money for everyday transactions or whether the idea is outdated and Bitcoin is more of a store of value option like gold than a means of payment.
Why? I try to pay with Bitcoin wherever possible. Fortunately, more and more merchants and services are accepting Bitcoin. Whether directly or through third-party providers. Here are my experiences over the past few weeks.
I wanted to take out a subscription to my favorite streamer. $4.99 payable with Bitcoin. Timely Confirmation Fees, $ 6.71. 134% of the purchase price. Even with an annual subscription, the fees would still be around 20-23%.
Paying my web hosting costs of around $30, Bitcon fees also around $5, which would be 16-17% fees.
The fees may be acceptable for buying a Tesla for $ 40-50k, but certainly not for daily payments.
Can't agree more! Bitcoin has indeed become an investment rather than a currency. Probably it's for greater good but still it's not a currency anymore. The only way to use bitcoin in your daily life is by using a prepaid card. Where you will fund your account using cryptocurrency and pay transaction fees only once and then continue to use the card for your daily purchases like you do with your other bank cards. That's one way out! However, if you want to do small or micro payment using bitcoin, that's not practical anymore! So the people within the network, it taking it as an investment because historically it has given a lot of profit to its investors. Also the big corporates joining the investment bandwagon, is sending another signal to the investors to invest. As of now, investment is more practical than using it as a currency system!