TL;DR: “I have decided not to continue running the Bitcoin Black Friday event,” founder Jon Holmquist posted to his iconic website. “After 7 years, and 6 successful events, I have fallen out of love with using bitcoin [(BTC)] as a means of consumer payment.”



Bitcoin Black Friday Site Shuts Down

The BTC community worked very hard in the last couple of years to actively discourage what most early adopters believed — namely, cryptocurrency’s killer application is as a currency, a medium of exchange (MoE). Instead, the current crop of BTC enthusiasts have come to view the project as a speculative asset, perhaps a settlement arrangement, on par with a kind of digital gold, a store of value (SoV).

For the better part of more than half a decade, Holmquist and his site sided toward the MoE narrative for BTC, seizing upon the very American tradition of Black Friday. It’s the first Friday after Thanksgiving, known in the retail universe as the beginning of the Christmas buying season. Black Friday is characterized by long lines outside of popular brick and mortar stores, eager consumers pushing and shoving for access to the latest sales and gizmos.

Every day is Black Friday on Purse. Save up to 33% on your Amazon purchases by paying with crypto. — Purse (@PurseIO) November 26, 2019

Bitcoin Black Friday brought together a nascent financial technology with the modern commercial phenomenon, a veritable match made in economic heaven. The site listed merchants who offered discounts in order to entice two things: product purchases and an incentive to learn more about bitcoin. That is no more.

“Although other alternatives like BCH [(Bitcoin Cash)] exist,” Holmquist continued, “I think that the fundamental use case of Bitcoin is, and remains, a form of investment and as a new financial instrument. The ability to transact with bitcoin is at most a needed function, at worst a tack on benefit. With both my career and my personal views I’ve drifted away from using bitcoin as a new payment rail.” He’s effectively selling the site’s domain to presumably a buyer who will continue along a more MoE, payment-related emphasis.

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