Any new technology has its growing pains. Bitcoin is not immune to this — from scams to hacks to theft.

We asked what the ZapChain community thought was the biggest threat to wider bitcoin adoption.

Here is what they said…

1. Other Currencies

“The biggest threat is inertia — inertia against competing mechanisms that already work. For most of the world, the USD works well as a store of value and credit cards work well for payments.”

— Ivan Brightly, co-founder of SolidX

“Convincing shoppers to use Bitcoin over regular paper money is a task somewhere between Herculean and Sisyphean on the effort scale.”

— Luis Buenaventura II, co-founder & head of product at Rebit.ph.

2. Difficulty

“The largest challenge for Bitcoin adoption is ‘crossing the chasm’. In most cases that means making the process as simple as possible. 20GB chains, code compiles and long string addresses make it difficult for grandma to get interested.”

— David Mondrus, founder Bitzme

“It is still way too hard for many people to exchange fiat to BTC and vice versa. This is particularly acute at the ends of the spectrum (the developing world and large institutional players).”

— MacLane Wilkison, co-founder http://contractual.io/.

3. Regulation

“Poorly developed regulatory framework.”

— Matthew Roszak, founding partner, Tally Capital

“The way governments deal with the currency will pave the way for its wider adoption.”

— Sankalp Kulshreshtha, bitcoin educator

“Misguided federal regulations.”

— Collin Paran, analytics aficionado and bitcoin believer

4. Perception

“Bitcoin has a branding issue that needs to be fixed by either rebranding the currency or the network. Who knows, possibly branding issues were a part of the Satoshi plan.

— Brady McKenna, founder Tecmap Consulting

“Fundamentally, most people don’t know anything about Bitcoin or, if they do, have a hodge podge of mixed associations.”

— Sarah Boone Martin, bitcoin, fintech, public policy, emerging markets

Okay, so what do you think is the biggest threat facing bitcoin today?