BTC Developer Jimmy Song Suggested it Would be Better to Use Credit Cards than Bitcoin

A Bitcoin Core (BTC) developer, Jimmy Song, suggested that it would be better to use credit cards as a means of payment rather than Bitcoin. As he explained it would be more rational to use credit cards instead of on chain transactions. Of course, his comments have created different reactions in the community, most of the enthusiasts reacted very angrily about his comments.

On October 8, BTC developer Jimmy Song wrote a tweet in which he says that it would be more rational and convenient to use credit cards rather than Bitcoin. He said that it is better to spend funds with a credit card with no debt on it and sell enough Bitcoin to pay the bill when it comes.

If you want to use Bitcoin as a method of payment, this strategy is more rational and convenient than doing lots of on-chain tx's:

1. Spend with your credit card with no debt on it.
2. When your credit card bill comes, sell just enough bitcoin to pay the bill.

— Jimmy Song (송재준) (@jimmysong) October 8, 2018

In this way, it would be possible to pay for different goods and services but instead of performing several on chain transactions, users would only have to perform one. This is in line with what Blockstream CSO, Samson Mow, said about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Mow said that Bitcoin is not for people that have less than $2 a day and that these individuals may not even be able to handle a computer or telephone.

It seems that Bitcoin Core developers do not want users to spend their BTC. Instead, they ask users to avoid processing on chain transactions as if it were something bad and not economically rational.

There are different kinds of Bitcoin users. For example, in the past, in several rich countries, individuals bought important amounts of this cryptocurrency and then they became millionaires, so they do not need to transact at all times. However, there are users in less developed countries that would use Bitcoin to avoid regulations, controls, and perform daily transactions. For example, in Venezuela, they use other virtual currencies for daily purchases and not Bitcoin.

But Jimmy Song did not realize that there are hundreds of thousands of Bitcoin users that do not have the possibility to own a credit card and that are not connected to the financial system.

Clearly, there were some users complaining about what he said. Some of them were explaining that the best option is to use another virtual currency such as Bitcoin Cash (BCH) that does not have problems to handle daily transactions.

https://twitter.com/TECHNSAVE/status/1049600667478765569

Others attacked him for promoting the use of traditional financial methods rather than virtual currencies.

#BitcoinCash people: “We think bitcoin #BCH can replace fiat money if people start using it as peer-to-peer cash, as intended.”#BitcoinCore people: “Just use a credit card for purchases, and sell #BTC to pay the bill.”@jimmysong pic.twitter.com/zm9k0ZzfRd

— Bitcoin (@Bitcoin) October 9, 2018