[jstanley]

You don't need to be solving something that the unwashed masses consider an "important problem". If you have a product, and people want to pay you for it, then that's a viable business.

FWIW, I am staying in a flat sourced through cryptocribs later this year, and looking forward to it.

If you want to pay with a debit card, you can use AirBnB. If you want to pay with Bitcoin, you can use cryptocribs.

[shafyy]

But if people are paying you for something, you're generally solving a problem for them, right?

Or why don't you convert your crypto to fiat and do Airbnb?

I am just challenging that enough people consider fiat currency such a pain in the ass that they will leave Airbnb and flock to Cryptocribs (even considering they would have the quality, quantity, and trust of Airbnb someday). An "average" person sees the BTC price of 0.0009 per night and doesn't even know what value that in their base currency. Of course, if it becomes normal to pay with BTC than it would work.

[jstanley]

> I am just challenging that enough people consider fiat currency such a pain in the ass that they will leave Airbnb and flock to Cryptocribs

And I'm contending that this doesn't have to happen.

Cryptocribs doesn't need to take over the entire market for it to be a worthwhile endeavour for its creator or users.

> Or why don't you convert your crypto to fiat and do Airbnb?

When you pay using a debit card in person, why don't you withdraw cash from an ATM and then pay with cash?

[shafyy]

> Cryptocribs doesn't need to take over the entire market for it to be a worthwhile endeavour for its creator or users.

I agree it doesn't. But if they want to build a sustainable business, they'll need a critical mass. Maybe it's possible to achieve that mass with this model

> When you pay using a debit card in person, why don't you withdraw cash from an ATM and then pay with cash?

That's not a good analogy. If I need to buy a product and they don't accept debit cards, that's precisely what I do.

Consider this hypothetical scenario. A person has BTC and dollars. She needs to book an apartment for her holiday in Barcelona. If the better (regarding quality, price, trust, availability, location, etc.) is on Airbnb, do you think she would book an inferior offer just because she can pay with BTC?

Just to be clear: I'm not trying to bash Cryptocribs. I think it's fantastic that people are creating new stuff and challenging incumbents. I am not a crypto expert, but I do have some experience in building startups. I am just trying to pose challenging questions and get a discussion going. Because, who am I to know if this model or that model will work out in the future. All we can do is try to ask the right questions :-)

[jstanley]

I think looking at this through the lens of building startups is why your judgment of it is different to mine.

I agree with everything you've said, in the context of startups, but I think this is just a one-man side project. If it makes any money at all, it's a winner.