RE: Bitcoin: The Bull Market of 2017
The higher the transaction fees then the greater implied value the Bitcoin network provides because users are willing to pay more for it.
@tracemayer line of thinking seems backward to me. High fees means that the people that really need the benefits of decentralized money are unable to use it (you know...the population of Africa, Latin America & Asia).
In my country for example the daily minimum wage is around 4 USD. With the current fees someone would need to work more than 2 days just to pay the fee of one transaction...and it can take hours or days to get it confirmed.
Bitcoin is only for the rich. Sure off chain solutions can be implemented but then what is the point of the blockchain.
Steem needs fiat bridges to bypass the tyranny of Bitcoin (yes I used the T word).
Tyranny of Bitcoin is a bit much for me, but I do completely agree with your point. I was excited about Bitcoin because I was excited about helping the unbanked in the world. If it's only useful as a store of value for those who are already rich, then it has less interest for me.
I know I am being a bit dramatic. I see each blockchain as potential alternative economy to the mainstream and right now Bitcoin is the gateway, the one that bridges the fiat world to the other blockchains. Just like the dollar is the bridge for international commerce.
The moment when we start building those bridges and start focusing more on Steem and SBD as currencies and less on it's social media use case the Steem blockchain will grow and start to reach it's full potential.