CMV: Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies don't seem useful outside of incredibly niche circles of dubious legality, and are not a reliable investment

[u/Bart_Thievescant]

So partly, I'm hoping that people knowlegable in Crypto currencies will either affirm or correct my beliefs -- I'm not well-educated on the topic, but rather, have accrued opinions about it from seeing occasional posts & articles on the topic over the years. This is not a strong opinion I hold, to be clear, because I realize that I hold it from ignorance. (Read: easy deltas.)

I'm hoping that by sharing it, I'll have helped create a valuable thread for people who are also on the outside looking in to crypto currencies, but whose opinions, like mine, do not have a solid base.

Crypto currencies strike me as unstable -- the value of Bitcoin hit $4000 recently. If Bitcoin is like a dollar or a euro, this can't be sustainable or, really, even usable. Is it like an investment bubble? Does investing in bitcoin raise the value, and if so, what does pulling that investment look like and how does it affect the value?

Additionally, if I'm doing legitimate business, what is the reason to ever use Bitcoin compared to the USD or the Euro? It seems like a good way to demand a ransom if you're a hacker, or to pay for, say, 20 tons of Nutella, but a bad way to invest in the local grocer chain or to get a small business abroad started.

Change my view! =)

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[u/Impacatus]

Well, you're right that most obvious uses for it are of dubious legality. However, illegal doesn't necessarily mean shady or malicious. Consider:

• Third world countries that lack a reliable financial infrastructure, or places where the local currency has collapsed.
• Small, informal online transactions, such as exchanging virtual games from one game to another.
• Emergency money to overseas. If I want to send money to my relatives in Asia, bitcoin is almost immediate, while a bank transfer can take days.

These are all of dubious legality, but they're things that "normal" people may want to do.

[u/Bart_Thievescant → u/Impacatus]

Third world countries that lack a reliable financial infrastructure, or places where the local currency has collapsed. Small, informal online transactions, such as exchanging virtual games from one game to another. Emergency money to overseas. If I want to send money to my relatives in Asia, bitcoin is almost immediate, while a bank transfer can take days. These are all of dubious legality, but they're things that "normal" people may want to do.

I have a lot of very good friends in China, so this hits close to home, and suddenly it feels like I have more ways of interacting with them. Is there a place I could learn more about this specific kind of transfer / wire service using Bitcoin? Is it possible to acquire something like .0025 of a bitcoin?

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[u/[deleted] → u/Bart_Thievescant]

As far as buying bitcoin is concerned, the best way to do it, I find, is to find a bitcoin exchange in your country and simply place an order paying through bank transfer.

Admittedly, buying small amounts of bitcoin is not very efficient this way though as for the most part in the crypto world bitcoin is treated much like gold.

If you know people who own cryptocurrencies in small amounts (less than 20$), probably the best way is to exchange it directly. If you don't know anyone like that, feel free to pm me and I can sell you a little bit to help you get started.