Quote from: ruggedman_dan on October 25, 2014, 11:03:23 AM

Quote from: kokojie on October 24, 2014, 06:09:03 PM

Quote from: mikewirth on October 24, 2014, 05:56:08 PM

If Bitcoin is going to take off, you've got to use it. I just talked to a customer service guy at Newegg. He said 'hardly anyone' pays with bitcoin. He said he's only dealt with two orders done in Bitcoin.

If you've got bitcoin, go spend some buying cool shit at Newegg or Overstock. The whole thing will fall apart if Merchants start seeing it as a waste of time.

Don't wait, buy some shit today! What are you - an idiot?

The usefulness of Bitcoin in retail transaction, is doubtful at best. I don't see any benefit in using Bitcoin in a domestic retail transaction, other than for some reason you need to be anonymous when buying a legal product.

The true power of Bitcoin is in a international cross-border transaction:
* US credit cards/banks bans online Casinos? no problem, we could fund gambling account using Bitcoin.
* darknet transactions
* open bazaar style markets
* international remittance
* true global commodity/stock market

Also the Bitcoin blockchain is useful for a variety of other applications.

Bingo. I agree with everything here. Why would anyone go through the hassle of acquiring coins to buy something they can easily buy with the swipe of a debit card? Bitcoin's true usefulness is in these areas in which fiat falls short.

As a former low-stakes online poker player and current sports betting enthusiast, I can say without any doubt that bitcoins are FAR superior methods of funding and withdrawing for these activities.

International remittance is another big one. Anyone use Western Union or MoneyGram lately? In the US, unless you are sending to a Spanish-speaking country, be prepared to pony up big fees.

Lastly, Open Bazaar is going to be big one day. Huge even. For all the people that say it is too difficult for the average Joe to use, trust me, the average Joe will figure it out if he wants to use it badly enough. Average Joes figured out Bitcoin when they realized they could use it to buy their favorite drugs on SR.

I agree with all these statements but in the end we still need regular shops accepting bitcoins too.

If you win big at the casino. It is nicer to just shop with the bitcoins directly.
After I sell something on Open Bazzar, it would be nice if I could use that coin to buy some groceries at my neighborhood store.
If somebody overseas sends you money, instead of paying fees to transfer that bitcoin into fiat, why not just use it in a shop that gives you a discount for bitcoin?