I was one of the lucky ones who bought bitcoin so I could buy acid on the internet. Years later I put a down payment on a house with the change that I forgot about. DARE was wrong.
I genuinely tried to look for a legit way to make it an option for paying in a small online store without having to depend on paypal or a bank gateway.
Well transaction fees for any big coin are like many dollars per transaction. It's ridiculous. For smaller transaction fees you have to go to smaller coins that can disappear or lose half their value one day to the next.
And still, if we forget thar people wouls need to pay like a 14€ fee for 1€ transaction. They still have to go to a exange to change their money, and then I have to change it back, because very little things can be bought with crypto, less with cryptos that doesn't have ridiculous transaction fees.
Did I mention than transaction are not instantaneous either? Unless you pay big transaction fee or use some obscure coin that no one uses.
At the end, I ended up with paypal. I really wanted a way to be "independent" of big companies for transaction. But crypto is completely ruined (if it was ever functional that I doubt it). It's not a coin, they are just speculation and bets. With cybercrime and drug dealing being the only "real" uses it has.
I can understand monero since you can actually use it as a currency on some certain websites, but that's basically it. I do not care about crypto anymore because of the almost toxic culture it can brew.
Back when reddit was a thing, I asked how to even start with crypto (what type of wallet, general set up general use etc) and just didn't even talk about the actual mining (I remember saying something around the lines of "I'm looking to mine because it's supposed to get extra cold this winter, I do not care about actually getting any crypto" and those dense mfers kept linking a website that calculates how much I would make with the cost of electricity and the efficiently of it all... like.... I didn't even care about making anything, I just didn't want it going into the ether)
Way back when Bitcoin was first being talked about on Slashdot, I mined for a while. On my processor. For like a month. I got about 1/20 of a Bitcoin out of it.
And then I lost interest for a long time. And then it became clear blockchain is an infinite self-similar fractal of scams and ponsis.
I haven't done anything with my 1/20 of a Bitcoin. I don't have any expectation it will go up or down. If the bubble takes back off and inflates so much 1/20 of a Bitcoin becomes life-changing money, I might try to sell it. Maybe if a bunch of crypto-owning crypto-skeptics organize a mass sell event to drive it to zero, I'll take part. Otherwise, it'll stay where it is for the forseeable future.
Ironic that someone like me who believes wholeheartedly that blockchain is snake oil is such a model hodler.
I don't hodl, i use it. Very convenient with crypto cards etc. I've had banks close my accounts before until i explain where money is coming from etc. Banks are cancer. I'm so glad there's an alternative
Not arguing about the merits of blockchain, but if your money is in a bank, it is on a computer that depends on cryptography (TLS) for controlling access.
edit: Well, ok, at least then it's not just crypto standing between your assets and someone else. Then there's going to be at least another layer, like multifactor authentication, VPN/MPLS, etc., depending on the point being attacked.
Lol all these people acting like holding the coins until they increase in value is the only reason people use them are missing the point of crypto. Every transaction you make with your bank accounts and cards, is used to build a profile about you. Usually to advertise. These banks can do whatever thet want to you. They can close your account at will. They can give (and do give) a copy of all of your financial data to law enforcement simply because they believe you are "suspicious". Thats all they have to say and then, good luck with the legal proceedings to get that FDIC insured money back from them. The goal of crypto is for mainstream adoption. We want a world where your financial data can be YOURS. Im not saying dont use your countries own currency (unless you live in Venezuala in which case there is another use case of Crypto) but all of you have been fed these lies and fear about crypto because the ruling financial lords want you to feel that way so they end up maintaining financial control. Why do you think the USA is so eager to change the lending rules for crypto now, to make it the exact way the banks do it now? (Google it) seems odd that they try to discredit its use yet also want more rules for it, doesnt it? Also you can accept 6 different kinds of Crypto on shopify stores alone now, and more merchants will follow suit in the future. It isnt about holding a shit token to try and get money at least for the ones who actually care about its currency use case it isnt. Btw, Monero solves all the privacy concerns people have with BTC.