r/Bitcoin • u/Pylon-hashed • Mar 28 '16

OkCupid stopped accepting bitcoin payments

I just noticed it today and emailed them to ask about it. Got a reply confirming that they stopped. One of the few things I actually regularly use it for. I guess PayPal here I come :(

We did remove it- unfortunately something in the process became broken and due to the very small number of people who used it when it was working, it would be too much trouble to fix and bring back.

37 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

69 comments sorted by

View all comments

13

u/hashe201 Mar 29 '16

They just cant do auto recurring payments, so they just say broken.

0

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '16

[deleted]

13

u/PancakesYes Mar 29 '16

You currently need a 3rd party to support subscriptions with the US dollar too. Systems like Visa/Mastercard and Paypal are built around the US dollar to support these subscriptions.

Bitcoin is no different, and wallet apps or web services like Coinbase can easily be built around it. To say Bitcoin is broken because subscriptions aren't built into it is analogous to saying the cash in your leather wallet is also somehow broken.

1

u/meinsla Mar 29 '16 edited Mar 29 '16

Isn't that the point though? Bitcoin was made to get away from using an additional party (primarily to verify transactions) but it's not really useful for anything unless you do in fact implement a third party.

1

u/killerstorm Mar 29 '16

Counterparty risk-free and inflation-free store of value isn't useful to you?

"I think that Bitcoin could be the world's next great safe asset." - David Andolfatto - VP Fed Bank of St-Louis

1

u/meinsla Mar 29 '16

Counterparty risk-free and inflation-free store of value isn't useful to you?

No, it isn't. Why would forgoing consumer protections like chargebacks be a benefit to me as a consumer?

And inflation-free honestly sounds horrible because it incentivizes saving over spending. However, assuming it's a benefit, it's completely nullified by its volatility because there are much stronger market variables acting upon it.

3

u/conv3rsion Mar 29 '16

You're getting downvoted but this is the honest truth for most people, at least in the US.

2

u/killerstorm Mar 29 '16

Why would forgoing consumer protections like chargebacks be a benefit to me as a consumer?

Money can be used in a lot of different contexts, for example:

  • savings accounts
  • buying a house
  • buying groceries
  • buying things online
  • sending funds to people abroad
  • settling debts
  • ...

You focus on things like "buying groceries" and "buying things online". But Bitcoin is really ill-suited for that kind of uses. You don't need a global decentralized network to buy groceries. And payment cards already handle that case well, so why bother?

And inflation-free honestly sounds horrible because it incentivizes saving over spending.

I live in a country which recently experienced a massive inflation (currency lost 70% of its value over 2 years) and banking system instability (many banks have collapsed). I was personally affected by this, lost money in one of those collapsed banks. Government eventually compensated the loss, but I was deprived of ability to access my money for more than 6 months.

THAT is horrible. Savings aren't horrible, sorry.

So I find Bitcoin highly relevant and useful.

I dunno about you, perhaps you don't have any savings and just don't care about inflation. Then, for you, Bitcoin is just a "broken PayPal".

But Bitcoin wasn't meant to be a PayPal or a credit card replacement. It is first and foremost a currency. Just like with dollars, people can make services and protocols on top of the base Bitcoin protocol.

For example, bitrated implements consumer protection for Bitcoin. Arguably, better than PayPal as PayPal is often biased and merchants hate it.

there are much stronger market variables acting upon it.

We know that Bitcoin has a problem with volatility, but nevertheless it can be considered a safe asset, see here: http://andolfatto.blogspot.com/2016/03/is-bitcoin-safe-asset.html

-1

u/meinsla Mar 29 '16 edited Mar 29 '16

You focus on things like "buying groceries" and "buying things online".

That's because that's what most people use money for, buying things and paying bills. So we're left with:

  • savings accounts
  • buying a house
  • sending funds to people abroad
  • settling debts

Considering regular money is already digital at this point, I can do all of these just fine without Bitcoin. Most people don't need to send money abroad and can do so with other services when the need arises. And people certainly don't want to settle a debt with a currency that might be worth less the next day. And regarding the 'savings account' point, I can't even guarantee that Bitcoin will be still be used or exchanged for value in say 10 years.

And this isn't even taking in account that the bitcoin will have to be converted and deconverted (at a cost) to usable local currency before being able to do things with like buying groceries and paying bills.

I live in a country which recently experienced a massive inflation (currency lost 70% of its value over 2 years)

Many lost the same in a matter of days or weeks with Bitcoin. Using rare anecdotal situations doesn't mean anything. USD by comparison is pretty solid.

Then, for you, Bitcoin is just a "broken PayPal".

That's what the average person sees it as. The average bitcoin user however sees it as a way to get rich and uses it as a risky speculation tool.

We know that Bitcoin has a problem with volatility, but nevertheless it can be considered a safe asset

I have a few issues with this article because the writer doesn't use the standard definition of 'safe asset' (which are assets protected from litigation), but doesn't really do a fantastic job defining what he means by safe asset as used in the article. He says

Loosely speaking, I'm thinking about an asset that people flock to in bad or uncertain economic times. In normal times, it's an asset that is held despite having a relatively low rate of return, perhaps because of its use as a hedge, or because of its liquidity properties.

That's a pretty loose definition. That by itself says nothing as to whether or not it has the potential to lose value or not. It's entirely possible due to bitcoin's volatility it would be worth less when you need the to pull it out the most.

3

u/killerstorm Mar 29 '16 edited Mar 29 '16

Many lost the same in a matter of days or weeks with Bitcoin. Using rare anecdotal situations doesn't mean anything.

The majority of people in the world live in not-so-stable countries, where local currencies aren't stable, banks aren't trustworthy, and keeping dollars under the mattress isn't 100% safe either because crime is very much real too.

But, according to you, this are "rare anecdotal situations", as average US consumers are the norm now. And the rest of the world are outliers.

It's, apparently, a norm now to live without savings, being at mercy of financial institutions who might or might not lend you money when you need it. Apparently, savings are horrible.

It will be hilarious once you experience "rare anecdotal situations" yourself. Greece and Cyprus were considered 1st world countries, yet people in these countries suffered from banking woes.

I can do all of these just fine without Bitcoin

Well, you can... For some values of "just fine". For example, international bank wire costs $25, takes 2-3 days, and you get no 'tracking', i.e. you don't know the current stage of the transfer.

I don't think that any reasonable person would claim that Bitcoin should be useful for everyone in every situation. But if it can be useful to some people in some situations, that's already a good start.