Forbes staff writer Kashmir Hill spent a week making all of her purchases with Bitcoin in tech-friendly San Francisco while talking to bitcoin fans and some detractors. Her adventures show the limitations of the virtual currency but also provide a window into the larger world of Bitcoins and how new payment types gain acceptance.
Among her interview subjects was Pyry Lehdonvirta, who runs a software development company in Finland that pays its employees in Bitcoin. It shows how the development of new technologies can feed itself.
Lehdonvirta says Bitcoin has gotten outsized media attention given its current state of development.
“Lots of people are accepting Bitcoin just to get publicity,” he says “But that’s not bad. As they want to get the publicity, they start accepting Bitcoin. And that’s a good thing. More people accepting it will make it much more useful.”
Bitcoin seems to be at a point where it will start to push into the mainstream or end up marginalized. The increased exposure and slowly expanding acceptance may convince the mainstream that the currency is worth adopting. On the other hand, it may be that the value fluctuations and spotty acceptance will convince potential users that it is more trouble than it is worth.