One of Three "Wagner Criteria" Met

If you remember my interview with Bruce Wagner, back in August, you'll recall that he outlined three hurdles that Bitcoin had to overcome before mass adoption could take place. While there has been much controversy surrounding Bruce Wagner, his reasoning was sound:

"I've been saying that the three major hurdles for Bitcoin are security, liquidity, and currency risk, and all three problems will be solved in three months, maximum. Once these hurdles are dealt with, Bitcoin will roll out as fast as Facebook has."

With StrongCoin, Wagner Criterion number one, "security," has now been met, though at a cost of one percent on outgoing transactions.

Bruce incorrectly used the term "liquidity" to mean the ease with which you could purchase Bitcoins (I've made the same mistake, myself). Regardless, it is still quite difficult to acquire Bitcoins. Inroads have been made on facilitating Bitcoin purchases, with services like BitInstant, but it's a symptom of the archaic financial system we live with that it may never become "easy" to purchase Bitcoins, especially in the United States. That being said, with improvements like Mt.Gox's arrangement with Chase Bank, it gets easier every day.

Currency risk to merchants has been mostly solved, with bit-pay, but again, at a price.

Each day we get closer to meeting all three Wagner Criteria. The three-month time frame might have been a little optimistic, but it is definitely safer, easier, and less risky to transact with Bitcoins, today, than it was when I spoke with Bruce.

Posted in: bit-pay,BitInstant,bruce wagner,efficiency,exchange,liquidity,StrongCoin