Peer to peer digital cash. Simple as that. If people dont use it that way its useless
Discussion
It’s good to save money, and i think that’s where most bitcoiners probably place their focus because of Bitcoin’s historical rise in price relative to fiat. If someone expects that to be the trend forward, then it makes sense to save in bitcoin. There is a lost opportunity cost in spending something that you expect to significantly rise in value. But when transacting with others, the current purchasing power of the medium of exchange is more important than its future potential value. Unless we intend for everyone on Nostr to KYC themselves through fiat payment systems, then people need to normalize spending sats at their current value. I think you can do that without negating the importance of saving.
True but I think a lot of the point of sending all these small zaps is to stress test the environment ahead of mass user adoption
Yea there’s value in that. That’s actually how the zapathons began. Most wallet providers seem to be handling at least current usage well. I think beyond that most people think of zaps as primarily a social activity and use zaps essentially the same way they use “likes,” albeit with a little monetary value attached. That’s not a bad thing, and I’d rather exchange zaps than likes, but I think many people overestimate how meaningful a 21-sat zap is from an economic standpoint. It’s not even 1¢ in purchasing power. Infinitely better than a like, but pretty much useless in the way of a tip.