> How practical is bitcoin as a currency for day to day use. I thought the transaction time was 10 to 30 minutes. I get frustrated at the checkout counter when my credit card takes longer than 10 seconds.
Its not very practical but this is mostly related to the merchant software and not the underlying technology any longer.
A) Merchants do not have to wait for a transaction to "go through", just like many credit card accepting merchants don't actually connect to the network when they swipe your card. They broadcast the transaction to the payment processor later. The same is possible with bitcoin, resulting in instant transactions for the user experience. It is an option with compromises, just like accepting credit cards is an option with compromises.
B) Consumers can broadcast the transaction to the merchant at the point of sale, but merchants do not have to wait for it to be added to the blockchain. This also results in near instantaneous transactions. It is an option, with compromises, just like accepting credit cards is an option with compromises.
C) Consumers can transmit a signed transaction to the merchant, without needing internet connectivity (nfc, qr codes, sound, bluetooth can work). Merchants can be the internet connected ones and check a balance. This would also be an instanteous user experience.
D) Consumers can transmit unsigned transactions to the merchant without needing internet connectivity, this is the same as C) but also allows for paper notes like national currency with denominations, without exposing the private key of the consumer's treasury.
Its not very practical but this is mostly related to the merchant software and not the underlying technology any longer.
A) Merchants do not have to wait for a transaction to "go through", just like many credit card accepting merchants don't actually connect to the network when they swipe your card. They broadcast the transaction to the payment processor later. The same is possible with bitcoin, resulting in instant transactions for the user experience. It is an option with compromises, just like accepting credit cards is an option with compromises.
B) Consumers can broadcast the transaction to the merchant at the point of sale, but merchants do not have to wait for it to be added to the blockchain. This also results in near instantaneous transactions. It is an option, with compromises, just like accepting credit cards is an option with compromises.
C) Consumers can transmit a signed transaction to the merchant, without needing internet connectivity (nfc, qr codes, sound, bluetooth can work). Merchants can be the internet connected ones and check a balance. This would also be an instanteous user experience.
D) Consumers can transmit unsigned transactions to the merchant without needing internet connectivity, this is the same as C) but also allows for paper notes like national currency with denominations, without exposing the private key of the consumer's treasury.
so there is a lot to build.