I think this is one of the key things to take notice of on the way to get NuBits into mainstream:
Other current impediments to the wide spread usage of digital currencies include:
(1) general unfamiliarity with the technology;
(2) the insufficient user-friendliness of applications associated with day-to-day use of the schemes;
(3) the increased need for personal security relative to deposits held with regulated institutions;
(4) and the volatility of digital currency exchange rates.
NuBits fixed item 4, still 3 to go…
The question is how to address them.
Re item 1 I think we are riding on the back of Bitcoin. Will have our own video soon to ensure we are still visible, but it is not focussed on average Joe. A lot of capital and marketing is needed in this space.
Item 2 probably similar but we can do something in this space ourselves. Our wallet is a first step, mobile wallet also a good one. Next step?
Item 3 is a challenge and will take time as it is about building trust. Either in the network or in insurances offered. Wondering whether there are any ideas floating around in the insurance space. Guess the discussion around reserves is one at least. The higher the reserves the more trust but this comes at a cost. Insurance can be done cheaper as the risks are shared. A combination of both is more likely.
What does it need to get NuBits mainstream ?
here is what i think :
Creditability
Fiat currencies asks people to trust a huge and legal institutions, Bitcoin asks them to trust the code.
Nu is a decentralized anonymous Bank issuing a currency -which is illegal in many countries- that asks people to trust the -yet- closed source code but still relies a lot on the human factor of anonymous share holders.
to solve this, the monetary policies should be automated as it can be according to plain and simple hard coded rules, opening the source is also a must then.
Sustainability
People can trust Bitcoin’s code to enforce its policies, but still they have to trust and like its policies to get adopted.
Nubits fractional reserve scheme and lake of profitability raises a lot of doubt about the long term sustainability, people worry if how much can this policies sustain the peg and how much can the shareholders maintain this low profitable scheme.
These doubts prevent people to see Nubits as the revolutionary future and the wide range solution, rather than just a temporary opportunity to profit from arbitrage and cross currencies trade.
The good news is that fine solutions and policies are already out there, and they require minimum changes on the Nu infrastructure, so we are a step ahead, but achieving the consensus can -and should- take some time, once we have a sustainable pegging scheme, we will have the time to concentrate on profitable revenues like transaction fees, profitability is the fastest marketing plan, notice what bitcoin mining did in its early phases.
Too good to resist
Once we address the creditability and sustainability issues, it will take some time for those solutions to be widely trusted, but as we are sure of the systems resilience we can focus on offering great deals that can’t be resisted, this would be easy since Nubits is a very good deal already.
A few good points there. The credibility issues you mention need to be solved, but I think there are or will be many more. It all comes down to establish trust. 100% trust is impossible and that is where you need to provide people insurances which are proven to work. I don’t have all the details how to do that, but open sourcing is only one of them.
Yes, good point our basic operations need to be in order. A sustainable profit model is key. We have all different opinions how that would look like. As we are trying new concepts the profit models might be different (full reserve) or classic (fractional reserve with insurance). One thing is clear a full reserve system comes at a higher price (less profit) which a fractional reserve with adequate insurance and trust might undercut. Jury is out on this one, I think.
I think you can only successfully sell proper services in crypto currency business if you have also solved the 4 items I mentioned in my first post. When you focus on a niche market you might be able to take one of the four out of the equation.
I think it must be (Full Reserve) or (No reserve), since fractional reserve is far worse and it doesn’t solve the reserve security problems or other down sides like the difficulty of changing the peg, even real banks can’t sustain its fractional reserve without any mechanism to decrease the supply, and parking rates wont help at all.
Our best choice is the No reserve at all, instead we rely on the code to increase and decrease the NBT supply according to the price index which can be obtained easily while the index is the USD $, this eliminate the reserves security issues and the need of trusting the human factor, also share holders will easily change the peg by choosing a new CPI, i highly recommend taking this approach seriously as it is the most suitable to the Nu network infrastructure and the cryptocurrencies nature, http://www.slideshare.net/rmsams/00-main