Comment by eof | Hacker News Reader

Comment by eof | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

> These companies are just straight converting BTC back to USD which in the long run does nothing positive for true widespread adoption of bitcoin as a means of exchange.

That is truly an absurd statement. Following your logic, 10 million companies using bitpay to accept bitcoin "does nothing positive for widespread adoption of bitcoin" -- compared to say.. 0 companies using bitpay?

This is actually amazing for widespread adoption; it teaches companies how they can use bitcoin as a secure, chargeback free, negligible fee payment system without being exposed to volatility of the underlying asset (which speculators are quite happy to do themselves).

It actually is not an absurd statement if you take in to account the entire quote, "…as a means of exchange." 10 million companies using bit pay is good for raising awareness of the general public, and may in fact lead to more widespread adoption. However as a means of exchange the most important characteristic is value. These companies are intentionally not using bitcoin as a measure of value, which is the next major hurdle that the currency needs to overcome.

"To be widely acceptable, a medium of exchange should have stable purchasing power (Value) and therefore it should possess the following characteristics: value common assets, constant utility, low cost of preservation, transportability, divisibility, high market value in relation to volume and weight, recognisability and resistance to counterfeiting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_of_exchange

> a medium of exchange should have stable purchasing power

What's the problem with having a medium of exchange that actually gains value over time ? (which is the case of bitcoin). By the way your USD/Euros and other fiat currencies are actually losing value over time, and not just a little. Look at what you could buy 10 years ago with 100 dollars and today. Is that "constant utility" ? Not really.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com