Ah, yes, also -
It seems to me that two things have to happen for Bitcoin to become more widely used.
1. A programme needs to be available to allow people to buy and safely hold Bitcoins that is easy to use and not time consuming.
2. Bitcoin would need to be priced and tradeable on a major exchange that people trust to provide neutral pricing data and protect their transactions.
One guy I spoke to set up an exchange, but had to close it down because US financial services regulations made it impossible for him to develop it into a legitimate business. Is regulation the major obstacle for Bitcoin becoming more widely used? Does anyone have any idea what specific regulations are the problem?
Naomi
The answers you've gotten so far I believe are spot on.
But let me add a perspective concerning wider use. Money is a funny thing. What gives it value is
agreement. For example, pretty seashells and feathers have been used as money because enough people agreed to accept them.
If you were going to buy a car and the dealer offered a 50% discount if you paid in bitcoins, I think you'd quickly become interested in acquiring bitcoins too. The items listed will come about naturally. For example, I had sent you a PM about
Safeb.it which solves number 1, and
Mt.Gox.com, the largest current exchange, essentially answers number 2 already.
Bitcoin has a bit of a chicken and egg problem, but one which will likely work itself out because of its favorable features over current "money".
Bitcoin is growing at a phenomenal rate with no signs of slowing down. Nothing of it existed prior to Jan. 3, 2009, and now a search for "bitcoin" returns 12 million results on Google. Even you noted the global response you've gotten.
Regulations are perhaps a speed bump slowing some parts of development towards much wider spread use, but they certainly won't prevent it.