No, with 0.01 BTC and nothing else, I can buy coffee at my local coffee shop. The Coupa Cafe in Palo Alto accepts Bitcoin.
On a more serious note: Bitcoin has steadily gained acceptance as a form of payment. In 2010, a guy bought a pizza for 10000 BTC. It was a one-off transaction between two Bitcoin enthusiasts, but a milestone: the first purchase of real goods. In 2011 and 2012, Bitcoin matured from enthusiasts to a wider audience, albeit mostly for illegal uses. The biggest was Silk Road.
Now, in 2013, Bitcoin is starting to be accepted by regular, legal businesses. Shopify, Coupa Cafe, WordPress, Reddit, OkCupid, and new merchants joining every week. There are startups like Coinbase devoted to making this as easy as possible. Someone in Vancouver set up an ATM that takes Bitcoin and gives you cash.
Sure, there's a long way to go. But acceptance has been improving rapidly. And Bitcoin has features--very low transaction costs, no "chargebacks", etc--that make it inherently attractive to sellers. Instead of focusing on "where the puck is", we should skate "where the puck is going to be".
On a more serious note: Bitcoin has steadily gained acceptance as a form of payment. In 2010, a guy bought a pizza for 10000 BTC. It was a one-off transaction between two Bitcoin enthusiasts, but a milestone: the first purchase of real goods. In 2011 and 2012, Bitcoin matured from enthusiasts to a wider audience, albeit mostly for illegal uses. The biggest was Silk Road.
Now, in 2013, Bitcoin is starting to be accepted by regular, legal businesses. Shopify, Coupa Cafe, WordPress, Reddit, OkCupid, and new merchants joining every week. There are startups like Coinbase devoted to making this as easy as possible. Someone in Vancouver set up an ATM that takes Bitcoin and gives you cash.
Sure, there's a long way to go. But acceptance has been improving rapidly. And Bitcoin has features--very low transaction costs, no "chargebacks", etc--that make it inherently attractive to sellers. Instead of focusing on "where the puck is", we should skate "where the puck is going to be".