> there are quite a few other currencies (with much better track records) that people will prefer before betting their money on Bitcoin.
So I'm in the US. Assuming hyperinflation starts tomorrow, the only money I have, or anyone else will accept broadly enough to keep me able to exchange in the market, is bitcoin. Nobody has Euros, nobody takes them, nobody takes Canadian dollars on the boarder, and nobody would accept or buy the equipment to measure weights of gold or platinum.
Of course, the market would probably broadly move (more due to ignorance than any real justifiable reason not to) towards another states fiat in the event of a gradual loss of faith in USD. You would not have a situation where you woke up tomorrow and suddenly your dollars are worthless, at least if you are paying attention.
> If you have any evidence that Bitcoin is becoming more and more utilized, I'd love to hear. And I mean actual transactions, not services supporting the protocol
Overstock is apparently making like 2% of revenue from bitcoin sales. I know the Subway nearby that takes bitcoin is making money when I spend btc there. I'm exclusively buying computer hardware for customers through tigerdirect / newegg in bitcoin, though they have not released statements on how much revenue is generated through it yet.
Assuming this Glen Beckian Armageddon, I doubt you'll be able to use Bitcoin much at all, as it requires internet access and electricity, both could experience disruptions in the chaos that will surely ensue when world's leading economy collapses (remember, nobody (seriously) lost faith in the USD even during the 2008 meltdown, so nothing short of a '29-like collapse will do it). If that world-changing catastrophe happens, people will start taking Euros, Pounds, Yens, or Yuans long before BTC.
In retrospect, it seems that 2008 was the same order of magnitude as 1929. Sure, the safety net was there to prevent bread lines, but the economic damage was pretty close. Europe's lack of recovery is especially alarming.
Which only reinforces your point, we've gone through one of the worst recession/depressions of all time, and USD survived. I really can't imagine what would change it other than insanely reckless monetary & fiscal policy - which is absolutely not happening right now.
There are only three scenarios that would alter the USD reserve status: 1) gradual erosion over decades, via the rise of the yuan for example; 2) if the QE / stimulus era explodes and the globe sinks into an even more protracted recession (ie if the Keynesians were wrong), in which case the US government will print incredible sums; 3) if the US initiates a war against the major European powers or China, that could open a fault-line in the global economy (this is another hyper unlikely scenario)
"the only money I have, or anyone else will accept broadly enough to keep me able to exchange in the market, is bitcoin"
Virtually nobody really "takes" bitcoin, it just seems like they do because they are using a 3rd party service which abstracts those transactions into USD for them. How long this sort of acceptance would last if the USD tanked is left as an exercise for the reader.
As goofy as I think it is that people speculate in gold as a good "collapse" currency, at least if a US Dollar destroying event takes place gold will still be shiny, whereas good luck trading bitcoin when the power and wired networking infrastructure is no more.
> when the power and wired networking infrastructure is no more.
There is a plethora of point to point networking protocols, and solar panels exist. If it looked like there was a chance of USD collapse, I'd go buy some, and move somewhere without anyone around to riot and destroy my stuff and stab me. Preferably somewhere that is not the US, if I could get away with it at that point.
But honestly, that won't happen, at least any time soon to even fathom worrying about it. The US economy is too entrenched in global politics and economics to just fall over because of bad fiscal policy. I mean, we have already had bad fiscal policy for forty years! What is another few decades?
If you're in the US and hyperinflation starts tomorrow who is going to be buying your hyperinflating USD for bitcoin?
>Nobody has Euros, nobody takes them, nobody takes Canadian dollars on the boarder
That is because they don't have to USD is fairly stable if it starts to go into hyperinflation that will change quickly. Also as a Canadian that travels to the US a lot. There are large swaths of the US where CAD is accepted.
>Overstock is apparently making like 2% of revenue from bitcoin sales.
At last disclosure Overstock had done $2.6m in bitcoin revenue in 9 months. They are far from 2% of revenue. Their CEO keeps throwing out random numbers about what they plan to do by the end of the year that don't make sense(He still claims $10-20m by year end regularly) to cover the fact that their bitcoin revenue has been dropping from day one.
So I'm in the US. Assuming hyperinflation starts tomorrow, the only money I have, or anyone else will accept broadly enough to keep me able to exchange in the market, is bitcoin. Nobody has Euros, nobody takes them, nobody takes Canadian dollars on the boarder, and nobody would accept or buy the equipment to measure weights of gold or platinum.
Of course, the market would probably broadly move (more due to ignorance than any real justifiable reason not to) towards another states fiat in the event of a gradual loss of faith in USD. You would not have a situation where you woke up tomorrow and suddenly your dollars are worthless, at least if you are paying attention.
> If you have any evidence that Bitcoin is becoming more and more utilized, I'd love to hear. And I mean actual transactions, not services supporting the protocol
Overstock is apparently making like 2% of revenue from bitcoin sales. I know the Subway nearby that takes bitcoin is making money when I spend btc there. I'm exclusively buying computer hardware for customers through tigerdirect / newegg in bitcoin, though they have not released statements on how much revenue is generated through it yet.