I just realized now, that my Canadian subscriptions for digital content all have options to pay with crypto. I don't do it personally, because technically it's an extra step right now for me with reporting every stupid little thing with the CRA. Everyone here likes to sign up for crypto-credit cards as well. I avoid these for the very same reason. The CRA is the problem.
Yeah, I get it. I see your point about the importance of anonymity. But that's beside the point. Let's not get sidetracked from the main point of this thread, which is how much is actually being used to buy or sell goods and service and not sock it all away for speculation purpose? How much of all the outstanding cryptos is (or have been) used for actual things in the real world other than speculation?
Bitcoin and cryptos are pseudonymous, no names and addresses. There are some professional (paid) chain analysts with the data you're looking for, i.e. Glassnode, Chainalisys, etc And Bitcoin blockchain and transactions are separate from other blockchains, Ethereum, Fantom, Solana, Binance Smart Chain, etc https://bitpay.com/stats/
I think the number is tiny. I also think the original dollars in bitcoin is tiny as well. All the wealth creation was only in its own ecosystem and then translated to dollars. This is why the crypto winter has not caused contagion despite the crypto universe being larger then the entire hedge fund community at its peak.
Can you name me a single African or Latin American city with 5000 or more folks that does not have banks and offer free bank account? I would love to hear how unbanked those places really are and how the poor don't have access to safekeeping their funds. And let's not talk about inflation because that's another segregated topic. You claimed they are unbanked yet despite my extremely plentyful travel all over the globe I have not seen any places aside villages without banks and plenty of offers even for those below the poverty line.
It gets used every day, in fairly large amounts of money, to pay hackers to unlock ransomware. Would you consider that to be a case of cryptocurrency "being used for things other than investment"? Not sure how you would get any meaningful data on that, though... I suppose you could construct a survey and send it out to the ransomware hackers LMAO
Yeah, I admit, I like your sarcasm. But on a serious note, what was the purpose of creating the Bitcoin and other cryptos in the first place? Was it to merely launder money or use it for illegal purposes? I don't know who's more naïve, you or me.
Guys, I fully believe that if you are against bitcoin, it means you are pro governments and central banks controlling the money supply as they see fit to enrich themselves. Wait till the CBDC comes out and they will be able to control you even more. I just don't understand the hate against bitcoin. Its the only mechanism we have to hold onto individual personal rights. If you give the power of money creation away to central authorities then you are voting to be raped in the ass (which is bad for those of us who don't want that, but I realize for some its enjoyable... LOL) But seriously, the total power grab that the government is doing right now will not end very well for humanity if we don't fight. And the best way to fight is to ensure the government doesn't have all control over the money.
No, you got that backward. At least for me, I think the Blockchain technology is great, much like the Internet that has done wonders for the humanity. But Bitcoin and other crypto, unlike what it purported to do, became just another money grab for the greedy. Most of the outstanding cryptos that are in circulation at the moment is stashed in some crypto exchanges as an investment, in the hopes of making more. Yes, I agree there are some who are using cryptos for goods and services, but that number pales in comparison to those that are used for investment. So, in the end, I can't help but ask just what is crypto for? For whom was it even created?
That's what the stock market is for... to grow wealth beyond inflation. Putting your money into some kind of code contrived by a programmer does not make much sense considering the alternative.