It's totally reasonable to ask how useful something is for you. However, other people might have other answers to that question. For instance, if existing solutions suited everyone - why are zelle and venmo so popular? Hell, I zelle money between MY OWN accounts at different banks just cause its faster, cheaper and easier then the alternative ACH/Wire transfers.
Edit: Hmm - if I could zelle to my brokerage account I probably wouldn't have missed out on that AMAT I'm salty about. :-P
My focus was payments (newegg was the original example), and I was comparing credit cards to crypto.
But let me ask: why use zelle to move money between accounts? Why not crypto? Or let's say you're sending money to a friend to split a check or something; would you use crypto vs any of the other "cash" transfer mechanisms?
I don't think that existing financial systems can't and shouldn't be replaced with something better, but so far cryptocurrency ain't it. I should also say that I'm not particularly susceptible to the ideological arguments on its behalf, which seem to be a big bonus for many. Maybe it's just not for me.
My bank/brokerage doesn't take crypto. So Zelle is the next best thing given how slow and expensive wiretransfer/ACH is.
(Wasn't wire transfer supposed to be 'fast', it generally seems slower then ACH?). And yes, I do use crypto to send 'cash' to friends.
I do agree wholeheartedly with your statement crypto isn't ready 'for the masses' yet. For one thing, no coin can handle anywhere near the transactions Visa can. But I don't see that as a reason to vilify it, shut it down, or pretend that only criminals use it.
In HN vernacular, I see crypto's as 'startups' - some will pan out, the vast majority won't. Hopefully, each generation of coin will improve on the ones before it.
as for "just not for me" - I'm only putting beer money in. I think most of us that have been in it for a while are in that position. Certainly none of us are out mortgaging our houses. Being skeptical of the hype is a good thing. Maybe in a few years/generations crypto will be in a place that's more useful to you :-)
It's totally reasonable to ask how useful something is for you. However, other people might have other answers to that question. For instance, if existing solutions suited everyone - why are zelle and venmo so popular? Hell, I zelle money between MY OWN accounts at different banks just cause its faster, cheaper and easier then the alternative ACH/Wire transfers.
Edit: Hmm - if I could zelle to my brokerage account I probably wouldn't have missed out on that AMAT I'm salty about. :-P