The problem with Bitcoin is Adoption - and the need for instant transaction speed

Question

I have been thinking about Bitcoin and I think that the main issue with Bitcoin is that you can't do instant transactions (contactless) like you can with credit or debit cards.  


I think about Bitcoin a little like this.  


My Electrum wallet on my computer or my Ledger contains my savings (My Bank). If I need money I transfer some Bitcoin from my bank to my wallet (my electrum wallet on my phone).  


So, this is where the problem with Bitcoin happens. Let's say I could buy McDonalds with Bitcoin. I go to the drive-through and first of all I need to unlock my app, then I need to scan a QR code. This could take a while as I'm hanging out of a car window. I'm guessing it would take around 1 minute whereas with a contactless card it's literally 5 seconds and you are good to go.  


Maybe it exists or maybe it will be implemented in the future in wallets but I would like to see NFC added to Bitcoin wallets so you can literally just tap the same as you would with Apple or Google Pay.  


If this already exists, ignore my dumb ass.

Answer 1

Lightning network makes near instant payments

Answer 2

*Gosh.  I'd have to pick up my phone, open an app and aim it at the checkout-generated QR code to do a Lightning Network transaction just to buy some junk food...*

* *That's even worse than having your savings eaten alive by inflation*...
* *That's even worse than having my bank or the cops just take my money like Cyprus, Lebanon, etc.* ...  
* *That's even worse than using CBDC where the bankers get to turn me into a literal slave*...  

*Yeah, golly, this Bitcoin thing will never catch on...*

Answer 3

The problem is you don't understand what you are talking about, being wrong in the first point all other fail... bitcoin is not in your "bank" nor in your ledger...if you think that you have some more digging to do before claiming we have a problem

Answer 4

The problem with Btc adoption is that a huge part of society doesn't see it's value yet.

Once that happens, every store will want to offer Btc payment solutions and workers will want to get paid in Btc.

Answer 5

Hey buddy, after you buy your McDonald’s with your credit card, go home, log into your credit card website, and let me know how many days that transaction sits in your “pending” section before it finally posts. Tell me again how it’s instant?

Answer 6

Any countries that you can buy properties with BTC?

Answer 7

You are semi correct in what you say
Lightning does go a long way to making it simpler and fast but not nfc yet as far as I know
But credit cards do not transact instantly, except on the part of the payee. The receiver can wait up to 5 days to see the payment
Where as with lighting, the receiver receives the payment as quickly as the payee spends it.

Answer 8

Skipped to the last line of your post, but glad you are thinking and searching

Answer 9

1) It already exist.  
2) All those concerns stop being valid as the network grows. Go check what the concerns were in 2010 and where we are now.

Answer 10

The brutal reality is Bitcoin remains some way off being ubiquitous. It remains a highly speculative asset and technology. The next 3-5 years feel like they will be pivotal.