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by MaulingMonkey 3706 days ago
> There is no reason for individuals to buy/sell Bitcoins other than speculation.

You already listed one other reason - drugs.

> What would be the point in buying Bitcoin with cash/card only to use it on a service that also accepts cash/card?

Only a handful of online services sell gift cards through brick and mortar stores that you can actually purchase with cash. As for the point of not using a card - my main interests in bitcoin as it stands today are: - I don't have to share my identity with the service I'm purchasing from (to validate the credit card), increasing my privacy and anonymity. - Like cash, it limits the risk of fraud and dark patterns (hidden fees, reoccurring charges that you weren't expecting, outright fraudulent charges, etc. don't simply auto-deduct from your account - although you can still not get the service you paid for.)

Well done, friction-free micro transactions for some services (e.g. news websites) might actually convince me to start using bitcoin regularly. Of course, that hasn't happened yet - nor do I know that it will happen with e.g. the problems with dust etc.