[wmnwmn]

Not only is BTC epicly badly designed (energy consumption=Denmark) but it doesn't solve a problem that anyone actually has (and neither do any of the other cryptos). Nobody uses them to pay for things, and nobody has any incentive to start doing so, because paying for things is not currently a problem. Compare with the Internet boom: along with the stock bubble, millions of people began using this new tool which changed their lives forever. Compare with the housing boom: tons of people got something, at least temporarily, that changed their lives, namely a house. Now look at cryptocurrencies. They having zero effect on ordinary life because they don't solve a problem that anyone has.

[jiggunjer]

You must not have any experience with international transfers or currencies other than euro and USD.

[wmnwmn]

Indeed I don't. Nor do most other people. That's one of the reasons why, to first approximation, zero people are using them. And even if lots more people suddenly begin needing to transfer non-reserve currencies internationally, these transfers are going to run into legal issues which, despite fantasies of bitcoin enthusiasts, are not going to be evaded just by putting "crypto" in a prefix.

[jiggunjer]

Your claims are fallacious. Most people, i.e. 51%+ don't use USD or EUR. Many people also make international transfers. There is a use-case and your observations that zero people use btc are anecdotal at best.

Pray tell what kind of legal issues would suddenly arise if it became mainstream.

[nigealj]

Trouble is it's still not mainstream enough for everyone to start accepting it as a form of payment but that will change with time. For instance visit amazonbitcoin.com and see what happens!

[wmnwmn]

Sure, I can buy some btc and go buy something with it in some places. But where is my incentive to do that, rather than just go use my credit card or an ACH transfer? Btc is not more convenient, it's not cheaper, and whatever gain in privacy there currently is will not survive a transition to mainstream usage...although the first two problems ensure that there never will be mainstream usage.

[crispytx]

This whole bitcoin bubble has taught me that people are much dumber than I had previously believed. Warren Buffett said it best, "Be fearful when others are greedy, be greedy when others are fearful."