> Point 2 is strictly false, crypto can be exchanged for goods or services on its own.
In dreams, maybe. In reality there are vanishingly few goods or services that can be exchanged for crypto. For obvious reasons immediately obvious to anyone who could care to think about the supply chain for more than 30 seconds [2].
This is especially true for oppressive governments where the use of crypto is grounds for criminal persecution [1]
[2] Let's say you buy bread from a shop. That shop has to pay salaries, rent, pay suppliers of flour, spice, herbs. Those suppliers have to pay their salaries and their suppliers. The owner of the place who rents out to the shop needs to pay for his stuff.
Almost no one in this chain accepts payments in crypto. So even if the shop accepts payments in crypto, they need to convert it to fiat. So the shop's question becomes: is it worth the hassle? in the absolute vast majority of cases the answer is "no".
Apparently, I must be dreaming this entire list. Now, to head off what will certainly be a response absolutely loaded with special pleading and/or strawmen, the claim was "crypto can be exchanged for goods and services on its own". Provided was a rather substantial, yet not exhaustive, list of merchants of various sizes which accept one kind of crypto in exchange for goods and services. QED.
> Apparently, I must be dreaming this entire list.
I'll say this again: "In reality there are vanishingly few goods or services that can be exchanged for crypto."
> Provided was a rather substantial, yet not exhaustive, list of merchants
So. What started with "money in oppressive regimes" became:
here's a list of companies in first-world countries many which at one point played with crypto, but now:
- don't accept crypto anymore due to its volatility or for other reasons (many links no longer work or don't list crypto as payment: Wikipedia, Microsoft etc.)
- actually accept payments in fiat provided by an external exchange because the need actual fiat (AT&T, everyone else who uses BitPay)
- don't accept crypto because it was a limited time marketing gimmick (KFC in Canada, and this is written directly in the list)
- don't exist as a company anymore if they existed at all (do not search, or open, Lumfile the cloud-based service at work)
This leaves us with, again, "vanishingly few goods or services that can be exchanged for crypto" because reality doesn't care for your dreams.
An even cursory reading of the list does not disqualify all, or even most of them, so not sure what you're getting at. This is childish nit picking at this point, anyone who wants to actually spend bitcoin will have no trouble finding a place to do so.
> An even cursory reading of the list does not disqualify all
Did i ever say all. Read what I write, not what you think I write.
For the fourth time: vanishingly few goods or services that can be exchanged for crypto
> anyone who wants to actually spend bitcoin will have no trouble finding a place to do so.
A very small amount of services catering mostly to first world. Since you're incapable of following context or understanding what your opponent writes, i will not engage in this conversation further.
Special pleading and strawmen it is, then. Again, the original claim was a qualitative one, not a quantitative one, and it remains accurate. Nothing in any of your posting disproves the original claim that "crypto can be exchanged for goods and services on its own".
In dreams, maybe. In reality there are vanishingly few goods or services that can be exchanged for crypto. For obvious reasons immediately obvious to anyone who could care to think about the supply chain for more than 30 seconds [2].
This is especially true for oppressive governments where the use of crypto is grounds for criminal persecution [1]
[1] E.g. https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-journalists-alexei...
[2] Let's say you buy bread from a shop. That shop has to pay salaries, rent, pay suppliers of flour, spice, herbs. Those suppliers have to pay their salaries and their suppliers. The owner of the place who rents out to the shop needs to pay for his stuff.
Almost no one in this chain accepts payments in crypto. So even if the shop accepts payments in crypto, they need to convert it to fiat. So the shop's question becomes: is it worth the hassle? in the absolute vast majority of cases the answer is "no".