Nostr

I used to be in favor of asking merchants if they accept bitcoin in order to spread awareness, but that question is too loaded. I don't even want to pay for random stuff with bitcoin because of mempool fees, so why would I even ask?

Now I could ask if they accept lightning, but if they don't understand bitcoin, that's already a bridge foo far.

I could call it "bitcoin lightning" but that opens the semantic door to accepting "bitcoin X" as bitcoin, which includes bitcoin cash 🤮

Operating on lightning is cheap and easy with custodians, but it still requires a basic understanding of bitcoin which these people don't have.

So at this point, at 500+ sat/vb, it might be too late to orange pill random merchants in this way. Accepting bitcoin as a merchant does not make sense from a convenience or cost savings perspective. If a merchant accepts bitcoin, it is only because they understand it from a store of value perspective and they are willing to put up with it's rough edges in order to stack it.

Customers won't use bitcoin until they have to. Lightning demos are often quick and painless but I have had many slow and failing transactions. We've all experienced closed channels, unroutable payments, etc. Everybody chants about KYC-free bitcoin but normal people aren't gonna do that. And the current US tax implications for using bitcoin are extremely inconvenient.

Basically, bitcoin only works as a payment instrument for those who value it more than they value ths inconvenience of using it. And I think we should be realistic and recognized how incredibly inconvenient bitcoin is to understand, obtain, and use compared fo fiat. I feel like a competent bitcoin user, but I've studied it obsessively for 3+ years. This is a compliment to bitcoin's value, which is so immense that it compells us to overcome these hurdles and obstacles. But for anyone who isn't convinced, there is no way in hell they will prefer it to fiat. It just isn't going go happen until their fiat is worthless.

We underestimate how much time and effort we have put into understanding bitcoin. Merchants are by definition busy with 1000 other concerns and do not have the bandwidth to learn about an arcane and confusing payment system that one single customer requested. This is why we should be especially grateful for merchants who do get bitcoin and use it, like nostr:npub1v0tfjv5ahr3c260jtzdk5w48krerrnkg8fmcnc5lpguk0qda04eqzm3m3e

Of course, tools for bitcoin are improving all the time. This will get better. And the network effects of demand will make bitcoin more relevant, even without the eventual collapse of fiat.

But for now I remain convinced that everyone gets bitcoin for the price they deserve, and that includes merchants.

If we want to change this, we just have to keep building better tools.

I'm not saying we shouldn't try to orange pill people. Coming at this from store-of-value versus inflation is probably the strongest argument these days.

Reply to this note

Please Login to reply.

Discussion

Lighthouse 1y ago

They'll get out when it's ¹00k and on the news everyday. Just stack and wait for the magic to happen. There's billboards in my city with "buy bitcoin" on it

Leathermint 1y ago

It's true that it is inconvenient. It is more work. It would be so simple to accept fiat. Even more if you use it as unit of account. I totally understand those who don't. I even mention sometimes that it is not possible for everyone.

You forget the tax evasion part tho. Accepting bitcoin has payments allows you to be paid cash worldwide over the internet.

I've been mentioned a few times like that when it comes to Accepting Bitcoin and using it as unit of account. I'm trying to write something to explain why it is so important to me.

Niel Liesmons 1y ago

💯 If you're talking black markets / tax evasion for online sales, at least you know you're talking to the right people indeed.

Niel Liesmons 1y ago

Orange pilling merchants is only worth your time if they have an actual incentive to accept Bitcoin instead of fiat:

1. Enabling black market sales.

2. Or you're doing it in a place where a high density of bitcoiners live and in the places where they a Tually buy things (Funchal is going freaking string on this approach f.e.)

Fedimint in a social wallet like Mutiny is becoming can greatly help with both 🚀

SweetSats 1y ago

Best way to incentivse businesses to accept bitcoin is for users to actually *spend* bitcoin. In my IRL business we have accepted bitcoin in person and via our website for three years now, but have had only a single – yes, ONE person – ever pay us with Bitcoin! And we even charge added card fees to the customer, as well as offer a 10% discount for bitcoin payments... Still people choose the CC 99.9% of the time! So there is in fact very little incentive for businesses to go out of their way to set up bitcoin payments if no one actually uses it.

Find a bitcoin business that offers something you already use/need and support them in their efforts. REWARD those who make the effort and others will (eventually) be incentivized to follow suit.

tldr; SPEND SATS people! 🧡

VelvetBlue_art 1y ago

People wonder why I sell Bitcoin merch on Etsy. They will complain that I do, yet I clearly say all the time that for a simple Bitcoin sale just DM me.

Only one person has come to me directly for a Bitcoin sale of my paintings, and has bought multiple times for Bitcoin only.

The only way it will ever be adopted for use by normal people is they MUST SEE AND HEAR ABOUT USING IT by friends and family.

The whole HODL thing is ruining it for real reasons.

Spread it around and make people see.

Buy shit with it, it is deflationary.

Don't buy shit with Fiat.

VelvetBlue_art 1y ago

nostr:npub1d020nktlkel7q09xq4d5zy53w5jx0lgynhtxkg7ggf5kryajet2sxw4uh2

Captain Sarahtoshi Nakamoto 1y ago

When I ask if they accept Bitcoin I say, “why not? It’s free and instant.” I do not draw a distincion between LN and the base layer. Most of them will never interact with L1 anyways.

For all intents and purposes, a verified signed tx is just as good as base layer sats. As long as I can send it to my cold storage, whether I actually do or not, it’s good enough for me.

BIP 119 will allow for the creation of Lightning factories which will enable super cheap creation of LN channels. If Project Bitlandia is a success, we will keep Bitcoin and LN in the hand of entrepreneurs, where it belongs. Here is the conclusion to the proposal I’m writing. We’re going to need LN factories to be able to handle the base layer side of this. Once open, a LN triangle can be used to keep the channels balanced, asymmetrically, so that one Chanel will carry the majority of incoming and outgoing liquidity while, the other two will will be used for short term utility.