It doesn’t look real pretty. See Forbes, The End of Bitcoin Part II. (Although, having a ‘part II’ to your ending suggests you are not going totally quietly.)
I was pretty negative about Bitcoin right from the start, and I make no apologies for that.
I was also negative about it (http://www.pelicancrossing.net/netwars/2011/06/bits_of_the_realm.html – and follow the link to read digital payments expert Dave Birch’s also negative opinion), mostly from the user standpoint, which is that I just don’t believe that many people are going to put “real” money into a crypto-currency they don’t understand and can’t use many places (as you say). It’s just too risky, and the obvious strategy is to accept Bitcoin and swap to a nation-backed currency ASAP.
I was really surprised when EFF started accepting it. (They announced last week they were stopping.)
wg
Actually EFF stopped taking Bitcoin in June.
I *heard* it last week. I’m always behind. 🙂
wg
you guys are just way too early on the death of Bitcoin. within one year you will be eating your words.
Well, it is now a year since Joe advised us we’d be eating our words in a year. While Bitcoin is not *dead*, it’s not really all that alive either. A couple of weeks back, Bruce Schneier pointed to an analysis of how Bitcoin is being used (http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/10/analysis_of_how.html), which indicated that most are being hoarded (irrationally, ISTM).
About the best thing that’s happened to Bitcoin all year was its appearance on an episode of The Good Wife, in which Our Lawyer Heroes sought to establish who actually wrote it. The show’s theory: two people, acting in concert.
I feel no need to eat my words. Or even Michael’s words.
wg