Stripe is Easy, Bitcoin is Easier

16 points by jotto 4 years ago | 9 comments
  • ufmace 4 years ago
    It's easy to do Bitcoin transactions, true. Everything else you might want to do with money is what's hard. Like:

    * Move all of the payments you've received into a normal bank account to pay operating costs

    * Allow a number of employees to do the above for continuity planning

    * Remove such ability from employees who have left the company

    * Ensure that the coins are not lost due to any unexpected hardware failure

    * Ensure that the coins can't easily be stolen by a hacker

    * Ensure that a malicious business owner or employee can't take all of the coins and disappear one day

    * Ensure that any handling mistakes with Bitcoin keys don't accidentally render the coins unretrievable

    • goldcd 4 years ago
      I would agree with most of that - not insurmountable, but all stuff that needs to be considered.

      History of money is fascinating (from direct trades, to intermediates like gold, to notes, to cash, to banks, to cheques, to online etc etc) and throughout this evolution we've built in all manner of safeguards - clawback on your credit card if vendor won't refund, to having your government underwrite your bank. Your money is pretty safe.

      Bitcoin strikes me as the equivalent of 'gold' right back at the beginning of financial evolution, that has tacked on the futuristic ability to beam it across the planet. Solves a load of problems, but will never solve some I must have a solution for.

      I'm still a fan and still think it's the most interesting and unforeseen thing I think the internet has given us.

      • ufmace 4 years ago
        Mostly agreed. I think it's an interesting technology with a lot of potential. We're still learning a lot. One of the things we've learned is that people seem to like the way that the conventional banking system has a lot of people in the loop to fix mistakes and reverse fraud. Yes, they're also imperfect and sometimes make their own mistakes, but it seems to be better on the whole than the digital crypto systems where simple rules are strictly applied, and no appeals or exceptions are possible.
    • jqpabc123 4 years ago
      Not easier and here is why --- virtually everyone already has a bank account or credit card and is fairly familiar with the fiat money system. There is essentially no learning curve with Stripe.

      Not true with bitcoin.

      • hectorr1 4 years ago
        This is the hard part:

        > the only thinking you'll have to do is how to manage your private keys securely.

        But it’s also the fun part, because it’s the first time you really need persistent end-user key management. Obviously a hard problem, but there’s a ton of money on the line if you solve the UX. And imagine what else you can do once we’re not relying on passwords and federated auth.

        • jstanley 4 years ago
          While I don't disagree with you (the average person finds it easier to pay with a debit card than with Bitcoin, on account of the fact that they already have a debit card), the article was not about that.

          The article was just showing how easy it is for a merchant to accept Bitcoin payments.

          • jqpabc123 4 years ago
            The article was just showing how easy it is for a merchant to accept Bitcoin payments.

            It may be easy to accept but for most merchants bitcoin is still just too risky.

            Merchants are in business to make money. They are not inclined to watch their funds evaporate due to the whims of the bitcoin "marketplace".

        • guiomie 4 years ago
          I like bitcoin, own bitcoin, but this article feel like something you'd have read in 2014.

          "Wanna receive Bitcoin as a web merchant?"

          This not doable in 2020, with current fees and transaction time.

          "No KYC, no 3rd party custodian, no governments, and it can be done offline. Instant settlement bliss."

          I'm so confused by this sentence, if you want to sell bitcoin, you need KYC. Because merchants need to do the grocery and pay their bills. I really don't understand the instant settlement part either...

          What am I missing?

          Please don't mention lightning network, this article isn't about lnd, nor is lnd usable easily onbaordable for merchants and consumers.

          • Zealotux 4 years ago
            Can we talk about the user experience of using Bitcoins?

            The first time I've used Bitcoin to buy something it took me almost a whole afternoon to do it, why? Because my bank, like almost all other banks in my country, blocked Bitcoin providers. Which means I had to open an account on Revolut, transfer money on it, then use it on a Bitcoin provider to finally get the coins.