I'm not sure I agree on the stability aspect but I'm quite happy to accept its development in that role is formative/early stage.Yeah I hear you, and then my thoughts on it are it shouldn't be considered a store of value until there is more broad adoption and stability. A store of value should provide a significant element of safe haven, that can't be said of Bitcoin right now.
On the 'criminals' aspect, are you discounting that link I posted detailing the MIT study that found that illicit activity accounts for 2% of transaction volume? Andrew365 has provided you with evidence of a move towards that use case in Venezuela. Similar data emerged from Turkey when its currency imploded.Can you provide any evidence that people are using it for that? It may certainly happen in the future, but right now is there anyone in any great numbers transacting in Bitcoin except criminals & speculators?
I believe development of that market cap is an achievement. But in the bigger picture, it's just a drop in the ocean. The market cap of gold is $7 trillion.Perhaps, but it's difficult to see how it's worth $266 billion then..
That first group you can take out (see above). Yes, speculation is huge - no question. 'Extreme edge cases' as you call them - there are a list of them every year. Whilst there is evidence of some use, I've talked to many Venezuelans who have never heard of Bitcoin.As far as I can see there are 3 main groups of people transacting in Bitcoin - those speculating, those engaged in criminal activity and those in extreme edge cases (failed socialist regimes suffering hyperinflation).
I live in South America - and if there was ever a place that had a use case for crypto it's here. However, bear in mind that we are talking about decentralized crypto - there is no centralized marketing effort. And there's a whole world of education needed to inform people about this stuff and how to use it (whilst efforts will need to be made to make it more user friendly).
That's why I believe something like Libra (even though i think its NOT real crypto) can play a role in conditioning people towards the use of digital money.
Again, please drop the criminal thing. There will be criminal use - but it will never be any more than it ever was with cash - and if its 2% as MIT found, then that's not any cause for concern.I'm not discounting cryptos or Bitcoin for what it's worth. However unless it used by people to actually buy stuff on a great scale, it will remain the preserve of criminals and those in edge cases. If that happens, then speculators will also leave the market as the number of new suckers will dry up.
As regards to pay for stuff, that use case is going to take much longer to pan out. Notwithstanding that, the leading Bitcoin payments processor - Bitpay - booked $1 Billion in BTC transactions last year. Lightning network and other scaling solutions continue to be built out.
Am I a sucker then if I hold BTC rather than gold? How long until the market implodes? If there was nothing to it, then surely there would have been one major pump and crash? There have been about 5 so far.
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