Re: Seeing the forrest from the BTCs

Hi Daniel,
I have no problems understanding and agreeing with what you write with one exception:
The mixing of BTC and "Ordinary Money".

Is it correct that you advocate using BTC as a universal currency/value which could be automatically exchanged during transactions?
I.e. BTC would be like the dollar has (effectively) been?

Anders

On 2015-01-20 05:01, Daniel.Buchner wrote:
> Hey Folks,
>
> I've been thinking a lot about payments the last few weeks from the perspective of a consumer, retailer, and CG/IG/WG member. In doing so I came up with a few important concerns/requirements for each stakeholder-type:
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> Consumer
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>    *   Let me pay easily with a single simplified solution, and let the mechanism, medium, and flow be ubiquitous.
>    *   Let me pay securely without the inherent susceptibility to ID theft, fraud, and malicious activity that is common with current mediums (ex: credit cards)
>
> Retailer
>
>    *   The solution should be easy to integrate
>    *   The solution needs to be more secure than the status quo
>    *   The solution should lower/eliminate fees and costs, if possible
>    *   The solution should allow us to easily account for our unique business logic (different consumer interfaces and internal processing requirements)
>
> CG/IG/WG Members
>
>    *   Don't force numerous, hefty specs on implementers that try to do it all
>    *   Make sure user stories are priority #1
>    *   Don't pit forward-looking solutions against legacy ones in the name of unifying all current mechanisms/mediums of payment
>
> What in the world fulfills all of these points that we can shape into something actionable? There is an option, but it requires two things:
>
>    1.  Completely separate development of solution meant to unite legacy payment systems from an unencumbered, future-forward solution based on a completely open payment network
>    2.  Fundamentally modify how we view Bitcoin as that latter solution
>
> Most Bitcoin proponents pour the majority of their effort into pushing Bitcoin as a currency (it could be at some point in the future), but what if that's not the right way to think about the opportunity Bitcoin presents us as a payment standards-based group? Instead, what if we used Bitcoin for the thing it has done well since day 1: transport value across an open network.
>
> In the coming months you will see Bitcoin companies move to offer USD wallets (some already are - Coinbase, Bitreserve, etc.). This raises an interesting question: what if users held local fiat currency in a provider's wallet and could purchase anything through one simple, unified flow without ever knowing the system performs on-the-fly conversion between Bitcoin and back to transfer funds? Here's what this would mean:
>
>    *   Any company/actor could leverage this simple, unified payment rail/solution (Coinbase, traditional bank, browser, app, etc.)
>    *   Users would realize all the benefits of a simple, universal payment system without needing to understand, care about, or ever even hear about the nerdy Bitcoin tech that acts as the rail
>    *   The scope and effort required on the part of UAs shrinks dramatically
>    *   Site/app integration is also radically simplified (for some sites/apps it can be as easy as adding a link to their pages/views)
>    *   Business costs drop for every party involved
>
> Let me know what you think.
>
>
> - Daniel
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