Paypal - Charge Back Possible?

[ehhhhhhh]

However at present, paying by bitcoin - particularly if you are not a miner - is more complex and no more secure than paying by credit card (to a trader) or Paypal/bank transfer for a private transaction, and therefore not really a solution to the OP's original question.

It really depends on your capabilities. It's not for technically illiterate people at this point, I give you that, but let's remember that it's far from a "finished" product. The protocol itself works brilliantly though (hence the happy user base).

However in the real world the number of trades is miniscule compared with conventional currency transactions, and while that may breed a level of trust among early adopters, it might also lead to a few unscrupulous early adopters perpetrating scams on the grounds that an unregulated currency is likely to be un-policed - although whether that is the case I can't say.

Again, of course it's miniscule, because it's an "infant" project. You cannot expect that a new form of money takes over the world in a few years, especially considering that there is no violent force supporting / forcing the use of it.

Any form of money or value attracts scammers. By the way, we already have the "first" bitcoin scammer's case with the US authorities as an example:

http://www.businessinsider.com/sec-c...-scheme-2013-7

[peterb]

It really depends on your capabilities. It's not for technically illiterate people at this point, I give you that, but let's remember that it's far from a "finished" product. The protocol itself works brilliantly though (hence the happy user base).

Exactly, and at the moment the average computer user or man on the street is unlikely to have heard of Bitcoin (although it was an item on a BBC programme last year (Radio 4 iirc) yet alone use it. Lets face it, many struggle with on line conventional banking, so unless it offers significant advantages of conventional currencies, it won't catch on. E mail encryption and authentication using a PKI is another solution to a real problem, but hasn't been widely adopted.

Again, of course it's miniscule, because it's an "infant" project. You cannot expect that a new form of money takes over the world in a few years, especially considering that there is no violent force supporting / forcing the use of it.

Any form of money or value attracts scammers. By the way, we already have the "first" bitcoin scammer's case with the US authorities as an example:

http://www.businessinsider.com/sec-c...-scheme-2013-7

Again I agree with you - but again, it will remain a niche currency until it offers real advantages in daily use that cannot be met by traditional or existing currencies.

It may be a technology that is ahead of its time (like the laser), or it may fade as the experiment that proved a concept but eventually died (like Concorde).

But if it works for you, crack on . My original comment still stands though, unless the OP and the potential buyer both use bitcoin, it is not a solution, and even they did, there is srill risk to the buyer, risk which is mitigated by using alternative payment methods.

Of course if Scotland does vote for independence, the Scots may be looking for a new currency, and if they adopted bitcoin, that would completely change the game.