If you have made bitcoin transactions lately, you might have noticed that it has been very slow. Currently, the Bitcoin network is flooded with transactions so it might take a while to get them all processed. Or you have to pay a big transaction fee.
This is not a surprise. This shouldn't be a surprise to anybody. It's been very clear for years that Bitcoin network will be in trouble if there aren't any solutions to the scalability issue. Because Bitcoin has also governance problems, they haven't been able to solve the scalability.
The message is clear for everybody who wants to see the financial revolution that Bitcoin promised to us: don't use Bitcoin. It should be abandoned.
You should use other cryptocurrencies that can scale.
Steem is one great choice. With very reliable three second blocktimes it's already many times better than Bitcoin.
Not saying that any of the points you presented are not valid, but I think people tend to sometimes forget just how big of an advantage bitcoin still contains due directly to the fact that it was the first on market.
Bitcoin consistently holds over 85% of the total market cap of all cryptocurrencies. Will this percentage of market cap likely decrease as time goes on and the advantages of other cryptos become more clear and accepted? Probably, but that is not to say that Bitcoin itself will be abandoned when that does happen. All cryptocurrencies still face the biggest hurtle which is the regulation. We would need to see a serious increase in liquidity before most cryptocurrencies can rise to their potential.
That's why all those who care about financial freedom should actively encourage everybody to change their bitcoins to better currencies. We have a lot work to do!
No, it's not true.
https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/
See on the top banner where it says bitcoin dominance 85.4%?? It fluctuates but it's nearly always around the 85% mark
Let me rephrase, we can see that it has hit below 80% for a short while but is typically atleast 80% of the total cryptocurrency market cap
Doesn't Steem rely on Bitcoin to get funds transferred to FIAT currencies?
Yes.
The future is Steem!
or open ledger- blockpay ;-) you can use several cryptos fast as light.
Yeah, with Bitshares people can use bitcoins pretty fast. But if everybody would move their bitcoins to Bitshares, Bitshares would become a lot more valuable than Bitcoin.
Good time to buy some bitshares ;-) Totally undervalued like steem :-)
I still think Bitcoin will overcome the issue. They're already very close.
But don't get me wrong, if solutions are not implemented the first mover advantage and all the best developers they can come up with won't help.
They are nowhere near close. Currently the fight is between Bitcoin Unlimited and SegWit but no resolution in sight.
I disagree, but it depends on what we consider close and what type of solution we are looking for.
Personally, I think we can have both Unlimited and SegWit just as was done with Ethereum.
Then we'll have more choice and perhaps an increased motivation to move forward within each of the two ecosystems.
Not saying this is happening so far of course, but I think we are progressing. It's likely a matter of perspective. I could equally well say that they are "far" from reaching a "solution", but that's not my personal evaluation of the situation.
-Also, please note that Bitcoin is at a peak in price right now and it might crash from here. We simply don't know. Some people might see a crash as a failure of the ecosystem, but I wouldn't unless the coin actually died.
I have some bitcoin, but I'm not invested and not going to invest. I'm just hoping to see more developement.
I see very little chance that Bitcoin will solve the technological problems for scalability. Even if both Bitcoin Unlimited and Segwit will be implemented, it's only a fraction from what Steem can do now. And Steem is getting better, if everything goes as planned, Steem will be even faster at the end of this year.
We'll just have to see what happens.
If bitcoin grinds to a halt or if they continue to evolve, I'm fine either way. Cooperative agorism is here to stay and we'll continue to see new projects.
It might get messy in the markets for a while, there's no downplaying that. But we'll be able to move on even after depression, if that is to be the case.
My point is that we shouldn't just passively wait that something happens. It's usually better to actively do something to change the world to better.
Absolutely. Activism of any kind, co.agorism in particular, is not about sitting on ones hands.
If I was a developer, was very into bitcoin or had a way of contacting some important people, I'd probably do that. But since I don't even have almost any money in bitcoin or any particular crypto currency, my direct risk is very low.
I'm just still optimistic about "bitcoin"s (however that will look down the road) future, from a detatched outside perspective. I'm not suggesting anyone should buy or hold bitcoin.
They won't for long :)
Funny you write this. I send bitcoins to an exchange 5 hours ago. They are still in limbo. Should have added a higher fee but I wasn't paying attention. I'm paying the price now. Could be days.
For micro transactions, bitcoin is not usable at the moment in my opinion because of the high fee. But it can still be a store of value.
Why would people store value in a currency that only a very few people can use?
I have no issues my transfers are completed within an hour and that works for me. The younger generation wants everything now...Relax good things come to those that wait......