Do you think bitcoin...

I asked the cashier at Walmart today if I could
pay with Bitcoin or Ripple. She said cash of
debit and credit cards only. She had no idea
what I was talking about.

Exactly..

Quote: Evenbob

I asked the cashier at Walmart today if I could
pay with Bitcoin or Ripple. She said cash of
debit and credit cards only. She had no idea
what I was talking about.

I find this practice of people in customer service very annoying. A yes or no question should be answered with yes or no. If the answer to my question is "no," just say "no," I can take it.

Quote: Evenbob

I asked the cashier at Walmart today if I could
pay with Bitcoin or Ripple. She said cash of
debit and credit cards only. She had no idea
what I was talking about.

Exactly..

The average Wal-Mart employee has an IQ of about 45.

Quote: Evenbob

I asked the cashier at Walmart today if I could
pay with Bitcoin or Ripple. She said cash of
debit and credit cards only. She had no idea
what I was talking about.

Exactly..

Are personal checks no longer accepted?

Quote: petroglyph

Are personal checks no longer accepted?

Checks are the same as debit cards now.
Many places give the check back to
you on the spot because they scanned
it and the money was deducted from
your account and they don't need the
check anymore. I can't remember the
last time I saw somebody pay with
a check. I haven't had physical checks
since 2005.

Quote: Wizard

I find this practice of people in customer service very annoying. A yes or no question should be answered with yes or no. If the answer to my question is "no," just say "no," I can take it.

Is this elevator going up or down? Do you sell Kim=chee?

Quote: Evenbob

Checks are the same as debit cards now.
Many places give the check back to
you on the spot because they scanned
it and the money was deducted from
your account and they don't need the
check anymore. I can't remember the
last time I saw somebody pay with
a check. I haven't had physical checks
since 2005.

I write about 6 per year, almost all for things like taxes and car registration. I have not gotten new checks since 2006 or so. I never wrote one at a store, never saw the need.

Quote: Evenbob

I asked the cashier at Walmart today if I could
pay with Bitcoin or Ripple. She said cash of
debit and credit cards only. She had no idea
what I was talking about.

Exactly..

Bob, if you asked the cashier if you could pay with a gold ingot, her answer would also be no. But that doesn't mean the gold ingot isn't worth around 1400 or whatever an ounce of gold is worth today. As long as it is possible to sell your bitcoin for around whatever it is trading at, it has that value. Period. End of discussion. If you want to start a new discussion on whether it SHOULD have that value, then let's do that. As someone who just bought a diamond recently, I am well aware of the silly value that something that really should have no value has. A cubic zirconia, which neither I nor my girl would be able to tell the difference from a real diamond, would have saved me two zeroes.....

Quote: SOOPOO

Bob, if you asked the cashier if you could pay with a gold ingot, her answer would also be no.

One interesting thing will be if national central banks begin issuing electronic cash (Sweden is opening the debate this year) you might be able to quickly convert your private crypto currency to national currency with a phone app and use it to make purchases.

Right now Sweden has a variable exchange rate which hovers within a few percentage points of an easy division with Euros. 1 EUR = 9.8042 SEK. Last November it briefly touched 10 to 1.

You might be able to use Swedish krona as a substitute for Euros.

Some small countries or territories use the USD (like Panama, Ecuador, El Salvador, Turks and Caicos) and other countries or territories that use their own currency but back them with US treasurey bonds and fix the exchange rate at one to one (Bahamas and Bermuda). Other countries have fixed exchange rates with the USD (East Caribbean dollar, Belize Dollar, Cayman Island Dollar).

Any of these countries could theoretically start an electronic currency that would substitute for USD payments.

China is the largest country considering issuing an electronic currency. Making it easy to convert from private crypto currency to Yuan might be a way to get their currency used on an international scale and compete with the USD.



At 10:1 exchange rate Swedish banknotes would be worth 2,5,10,20,50, and 100 Euros.



New Europa series of banknote contrasted with older notes.

Why Bitcoin Is the Largest Ponzi Scheme in Human History

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-bitcoin-largest-ponzi-scheme-human-history-vivek-wadhwa/?trk=Inc

"A PayPal director predicts that bitcoin's price will reach $1 million in the next five to 10 years; asset managers say it is the new gold.
This is complete nonsense. Yes, the price of bitcoin may yet double or even quadruple -- because its price is based on pure speculation, and these stories are feeding such speculation. But bitcoin's market price is almost certain at some point to crash and burn, just as the dot-coms' did, and for the same reason: because it is all hype. And there will be no one to turn to when it does, because no government or bank is backing bitcoin up; and the people who are hyping bitcoin will have cashed out and be long gone."

Just Google 'Bitcoin scam' and be entertained.
Pages of stories like these:


The Great Bitcoin Scam - Forbes

5 Questions Bitcoin Traders Can't Answer - Forbes

Why Bitcoin Is the Most Dangerous Global Scam in 20 Years | Inc.com

A New Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme Pops Up Almost Every Day | New Scientist

Bitcoin Scams - CCN