[astrodust]

Could this comment be more Hacker News?

There are not 7 billion people that this will impact. How many of those have no access to a computer of any sort, including a mobile phone? How many are under the age of ten? That cuts out a huge chunk from that figure.

Then subtract all those too old to care about Bitcoin or internet anything.

Then remove from that those that have little faith in anything they can't touch and hold, physical currency, precious metals, or simply commodity items. Considering how reluctant some groups are to even use credit cards for online purchases, regardless of the enormous level of consumer protection provided by that service, this is an insurmountable hurdle for some.

There's at most a billion people in this market and for it to get that pervasive it will take an enormous upswing in popularity. At this point Bitcoin isn't even as popular as Cuban Pesos.

[panarky]

> At this point Bitcoin isn't even as popular as Cuban Pesos.

Bitcoin replacing the US dollar is unrealistic.

But if it's this valuable at the Cuban-peso level, how valuable will it be when it's as popular as, say, Canadian dollars or South African rand?

[astrodust]

It's not even at the Cuban Peso level and it's highly unlikely to eclipse the valuation of all currency for any developed country.

Canada is the 11th largest economy in the world, slightly behind Russia and India. South Africa is less than a quarter of that, but still way bigger than Bitcoin.

Cuba has a GDP of $68B. Is there that much Bitcoin being exchanged for goods yet?

I'd be impressed if Bitcoin transactions have eclipsed the economy of EVE Online.

[panarky]

> I'd be impressed if Bitcoin transactions have eclipsed the economy of EVE Online

You say that like it's a bad thing. Looks like upside to me.

I don't pretend to know the future of Bitcoin. If nothing else it's demonstrated the possibility of transmitting real value across borders without banks or governments.

That capability is worth a lot more than the GDP of Cuba.

I don't know if Bitcoin or something else will solve this problem, but now that everyone knows what's possible, it's as inevitable as any other obvious invention.

And whatever solves this problem will be worth a hell of a lot.

[rthomas6]

>How many of those have no access to a computer of any sort, including a mobile phone?

Irrelevant to your point, but less than you might think. Currency transfer using texting is popular and highly functional in several poor African countries. I agree with your assessment that these people won't be affected by Bitcoin, but using mobile phones to send money is actually VERY common in some poor countries.

[astrodust]

Yes, mobile phones are big in Africa, this I understand, but you're admitting you need a mobile phone to do this. Many people do not have one and aren't likely to get one soon for a host of reasons.

There are people that will never have the chance to own a mobile phone. They have other priorities, like fresh water, AIDS or malaria medication, or a reliable source of food.

[pmelendez]

"They have other priorities, like fresh water, AIDS or malaria medication, or a reliable source of food."

I am from a country with ~50% inflation and +30% of poverty (under the government scale, it is arguable to be way higher) and I can tell you that in that context you are overestimating people's priorities.

I have seen people with a minimum wage salary and without anything to eat but having smartphones and/or having cosmetic surgeries.

[astrodust]

That's the paradox of places like Africa. You have massive amounts of intense poverty, but technology still trickles down.

I'm still skeptical a currency created by crytoanarchists and supported by people with money to burn on ASIC hardware will have a meaningful impact on those with virtually nothing. If I'm wrong, so much the better.

[basch]

How about, this is just one blockchain. Competing cryptocurrencies and blockchains give way more than 21 million coins.