Monero

Awesome, welcome.

Yes, Monero is what most people think Bitcoin is. Most "Bitcoiners" do not use bitcoin, they just hold it and post online about it.

Once you actually try to use it you realize it is not suitable to be used as money.

Welcome! Bitcoin was a great first step, but it wasn't the final step into he journey to digital cash. Lots of people got fixated on the tulip mania gold rush and didn't consider what is necessary to be cash, heck most people probably don't care about having digital cash, they are just gold rushers.

Monero is clearly the best next step to a more democratic economy.

Welcome!

The first time I used BTC I knew immediately something was missing. The second time I used it I knew the 'mixers' recommended for privacy were also inefficient. That's about when I stumbled onto Monero and I haven't bothered with other cryptos since.

We're all also learning all the time. If none of us put any effort into growing our understanding of money, decentralization, or privacy we wouldn't have ended up here.

Anyways, welcome again and ask questions if you have any! Even if no one here knows the answers it may at least be a good discussion and someone will be able to point you in a helpful direction.

Welcome. It's never the wrong time to start using the right currencies. BTC is infinitely better than Fiat. But for my needs, Monero is what I always hoped Bitcoin would be. Shortly after learning about Monero, digging into a bit and testing it out, I realized it was what I'd been looking for in a digital currency all along. I will always respect BTC for bringing cryptocurrency into the mainstream, and it definitely still has its place. But I've come to believe XMR is truly where it's at.

I think the realizations that you came to and shared here in your post is similar to the ones many more will come to in the future which is why I believe increased use and adoption moving forward is inevitable.

Welcome to both monero and lemmy. Feel free to ask questions always.

Well, when it comes to money you use, big or small, theres obviously no comparison. Monero does have some scaling limitations that we will inevitably run into eventually that have not been resolved, but the whole privacy thing is a deal breaker whether Bitcoiners think so or not, Monero is really the only option. You can't just be running around with fully traceable to the beginning of time transactions that any two bit crook with a plumbers wrench can see. Even if youre broke but you sell something to a rich guy it's a huge risk for someone to misunderstand that.

But bitcoin does have some things going for it that make it useful, not as money for everyday people of course. First, it is censorship resistant and final, and nobody can stop it now. But more importantly, it is the biggest proof of work network by far and has a mature mining industry, this necessarily means that one day it will be used to trade energy on international energy markets. It has a huge place with regard to global capital allocation and trade, and so it is a very smart move to have some.

But you can never just spend it, not unless you want all the problems associated with the transparent ledger that the maxis like to downplay and ignore, and they're absolutely huge problems. When it comes down to it, practically, if you want to get paid for your work or business and spend your money in your life, it's no contest: monero is the clear winner.

Here is the start: https://moneroinfodump.neocities.org

I find that people who use BTC treat it as an investment. People who use Monero use it as money.