pull down to refresh
90 sats \ 1 reply \ @Kontext OP 8h \ parent \ on: Relai sunsets Lightning Network integration bitcoin
I think it's far superior as a MoE: low fees, cut out the card processors & banks, no chargeback risk, have immediate self-custody of funds. In addition, I don't have to worry about FX rates or exchange fees when I go from country A (where I pay in Bitcoin) to country B (where I pay in Bitcoin) or even simply use online services of a company in another jurisdiction.
But yeah, you're right, necessity is the driver of any new technology. And for the end user, the fees, the chargeback risks, the custody issue... these are either obfuscated or just too trivial to care about.
I think you're right. It is superior, but only if both sides (merchants and consumers) adopt at the same time.
This reminds me of a classic "coordination failure" from game theory, in which two parties fail to reach a mutually beneficial arrangement, because it's only beneficial if they both move together, and if one side moves on their own they'll be worse off. Without some way to coordinate the joint movement, they won't be willing to move unilaterally.
Example is electric cars and charging stations. They both need to be adopted together. No one will want to buy electric cars unless they know there will be plentiful charging stations; no one will want to build charging stations unless they know there will be a lot of electric cars. Some kind of coordination needs to be done, like subsidies, to get both sides to move forward together.
reply