Ask HN: Survey] Why do/don't you buy with crypto?
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To pay with my credit card online I just need to fill in the card details (which are often stored on the website anyway, or auto-filled by my browser). To pay with card in person, I just need to touch in my phone (at worst take out my card and enter the PIN if they don't accept contactless, which is exceptionally rare in the UK).
To pay with a cryptocurrency I need to:
1. Be using a service which accepts crypto. This immediately rules out the overwhelming majority of services people use, live or online.
2. Own the same cryptocurrency which the service accepts.
3. To have it, I need to register to a cryptocurrency exchange.
4. To do that I need to go through identity checks and often message support a couple of times for one thing or another.
5. Now I can use a payment method to deposit money from my bank account to the exchange. NOTE: This step alone is slower than the entire process of just paying real money with my credit card.
6. I need to wait a couple of days for the bank transfer to the exchange to clear. The transfer also comes with fees.
7. While I'm doing this the price of the cryptocurrency is fluctuating and I have no way to know which way it will go next and by how much.
8. Now I need to transfer the cryptocurrency from the exchange to my wallet - this process is different for each coin and each exchange.
9. A few minutes later, if I've followed the instructions correctly I may have the privilege to pay with a cryptocurrency from my wallet. I will pay a fee for this and the payment won't be received immediately.
And I'm capable of doing all of this because I'm a somewhat technical person who's used to following instructions written by other people and has a basic understanding of cryptocurrency. Neither the older members of my family, nor the younger ones who don't spend their entire day in front a computer will have the ability or interest to go through this.
To pay with a cryptocurrency I need to:
1. Be using a service which accepts crypto. This immediately rules out the overwhelming majority of services people use, live or online.
2. Own the same cryptocurrency which the service accepts.
3. To have it, I need to register to a cryptocurrency exchange.
4. To do that I need to go through identity checks and often message support a couple of times for one thing or another.
5. Now I can use a payment method to deposit money from my bank account to the exchange. NOTE: This step alone is slower than the entire process of just paying real money with my credit card.
6. I need to wait a couple of days for the bank transfer to the exchange to clear. The transfer also comes with fees.
7. While I'm doing this the price of the cryptocurrency is fluctuating and I have no way to know which way it will go next and by how much.
8. Now I need to transfer the cryptocurrency from the exchange to my wallet - this process is different for each coin and each exchange.
9. A few minutes later, if I've followed the instructions correctly I may have the privilege to pay with a cryptocurrency from my wallet. I will pay a fee for this and the payment won't be received immediately.
And I'm capable of doing all of this because I'm a somewhat technical person who's used to following instructions written by other people and has a basic understanding of cryptocurrency. Neither the older members of my family, nor the younger ones who don't spend their entire day in front a computer will have the ability or interest to go through this.
> Be using a service which accepts crypto.
This one is really the only valid reason, otherwise you're not comparing apples-to-apples.
You (most probably) did have to go (physically) to a bank and prove your identity and your credit record in order to maintain any credit card. And it takes days to wire money to your bank account. If anything crypto exchanges are trivially easy to use in comparison and you can convert one (usable) cryptocoin to another much faster and easier than any bank will allow you.
Price fluctuations are a problem, but not if you keep your main balance in a stablecoin and only convert at the time of purchase. And a crypto wallet doesnt grow in physical no matter how many different coins you store in it.
In reality, if cryptocurrencies weren't actively being fought by governments and banks, they would have conquered the world in no time because they are so damn easier to use and secure.
This one is really the only valid reason, otherwise you're not comparing apples-to-apples.
You (most probably) did have to go (physically) to a bank and prove your identity and your credit record in order to maintain any credit card. And it takes days to wire money to your bank account. If anything crypto exchanges are trivially easy to use in comparison and you can convert one (usable) cryptocoin to another much faster and easier than any bank will allow you.
Price fluctuations are a problem, but not if you keep your main balance in a stablecoin and only convert at the time of purchase. And a crypto wallet doesnt grow in physical no matter how many different coins you store in it.
In reality, if cryptocurrencies weren't actively being fought by governments and banks, they would have conquered the world in no time because they are so damn easier to use and secure.
> You (most probably) did have to go (physically) to a bank and prove your identity and your credit record in order to maintain any credit card.
Didn't have to go there physically. And this is done once while with crypto exchanges you need to sign up for multiple ones because the quality and coins they offer vary so much.
> And it takes days to wire money to your bank account.
In the UK I can transfer money through my phone app (or online banking if I prefer) to any other UK bank account and the transfer is instant and completely free. Cryptocurrencies can't compete with banks that have their shit together when it comes to convenience.
Didn't have to go there physically. And this is done once while with crypto exchanges you need to sign up for multiple ones because the quality and coins they offer vary so much.
> And it takes days to wire money to your bank account.
In the UK I can transfer money through my phone app (or online banking if I prefer) to any other UK bank account and the transfer is instant and completely free. Cryptocurrencies can't compete with banks that have their shit together when it comes to convenience.
> because the quality and coins
a popular exchange like binance offers hundreds of coins and certainly all of the major ones, and probably more than any bank can offer. If you need one that is not in their list then you must be looking at a very weird merchant. i agree that crypto wallets are still cumbersome to use for average users, but finding and signing up to exchanges is easy.
> I can transfer money through my phone app (or online banking if I prefer) to any other UK bank account
does it work equally fast and cheap when you send money to japan or australia?
a popular exchange like binance offers hundreds of coins and certainly all of the major ones, and probably more than any bank can offer. If you need one that is not in their list then you must be looking at a very weird merchant. i agree that crypto wallets are still cumbersome to use for average users, but finding and signing up to exchanges is easy.
> I can transfer money through my phone app (or online banking if I prefer) to any other UK bank account
does it work equally fast and cheap when you send money to japan or australia?
> does it work equally fast and cheap when you send money to japan or australia?
Of course not. Not that I've ever had to do that in my entire adult life.
> a popular exchange like binance offers hundreds of coins and certainly all of the major ones, and probably more than any bank can offer. If you need one that is not in their list then you must be looking at a very weird merchant.
Decentralisation at its finest.
Of course not. Not that I've ever had to do that in my entire adult life.
> a popular exchange like binance offers hundreds of coins and certainly all of the major ones, and probably more than any bank can offer. If you need one that is not in their list then you must be looking at a very weird merchant.
Decentralisation at its finest.
Cryptos aren't currency, they are speculative stores of value.
Too much volatility, losing key means losing money, inability to reverse transactions.
Too much volatility, losing key means losing money, inability to reverse transactions.
My impression is that people are holding on for dear life, just in case its value would increase. To me crypto value seems extremely volatile, there is a perceived high risk associated with owning it. Today it is valuable, tomorrow it is zero. I believe it needs to become a little bit more mature before it is mainstream enough for everyone to relax and use it the way it is intended.
Partly convenience (cards/cash work fine for most things I want to buy, and without needing another account/any sort of wallet setup), and partly support (most sites/services don't get enough people buying with cryptocurrencies, so they have no incentive to support them).
A couple of survey tips:
Explains what a NFT is.
With the answer where the answers are drugs and porn, you won’t be able to distinguish between people who don’t pay for porn (or too embarrassed to admit) and those who don’t use crypto to do it. So you need a different survey structure to make the difference.
A 4 way choice for each category:
1. Crypto
2. Non crypto
3. Don’t purchase
4. Rather not say
Might be better
Explains what a NFT is.
With the answer where the answers are drugs and porn, you won’t be able to distinguish between people who don’t pay for porn (or too embarrassed to admit) and those who don’t use crypto to do it. So you need a different survey structure to make the difference.
A 4 way choice for each category:
1. Crypto
2. Non crypto
3. Don’t purchase
4. Rather not say
Might be better
I've been remote for 4 years, having some crypto is like having a free international checking account. Sure its not accepted by some vendors, but its getting better as time goes on.
Mind participating in this quick, 3min Typeform survey?
https://rareart.typeform.com/to/ziER4c