Back in ~2013-2014 you had a real push to try to get people and merchants to actually use bitcoin for purchases. Like nostr:nprofile1qythwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnswf5k6ctv9ehx2ap0qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uq32amnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwv3sk6atn9e5k7tcpz3mhxue69uhkzmr8duh82arcduhx7mn99uq35amnwvaz7tmpveexjcmp9ehx7um5wghx5mmzw4exwtcprpmhxue69uhnzwfj9ccnvwpwx5hrwde6xsurgwp0qyv8wumn8ghj7ct59ehx7um5wfmk7untwvhxxmmd9uq3zamnwvaz7te3xsczue3h0ghxjme0qywhwumn8ghj7ct8v4h8gmmjv9hxwefwdehhxarjxyhxxmmd9uq36amnwvaz7tejxdnk6apwdehhxarj9e6x2cmgdehkcmm80yhsqgqskenqevr4f0acjfj5whtk0q6eaaz7c5nh352zv8gh6rfuk4g8muqn4az7 today you had people selling stuff like Alpaca wool sweaters, etc, advertising on places like the BitcoinTalk forums. You had some coffeeshops and bars that accepted bitcoin pop up in various places in the world.

But it wasn't easy. The UX sucked, transactions on the L1 are inherently slow, and (here's where we get to government) the tax requirements are ridiculous. Even today, despite the "pro-Bitcoin president," you're *legally obligated* to calculate capital gains taxes on a cup of coffee. Doesn't matter the cost, $4 transaction, you've got to break out the spreadsheet and calculate FIFO/LIFO on it.

So all of these factors combine so that by ~2015-2016, VC money was all going to "blockchain not bitcoin," Ethereum, alternative blockchains, etc. Fintech was "hot" but it wasn't about replacing the dollar, it was about using your phone to pay with your existing Visa/MasterCard.