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Therefore, why would I, a buyer use this vs a credit card?
Firstly, you just cannot use your credit card (or Paypal, or Western Union) to do certain transactions: sending any amount of money to a family member overseas (WU does not operate in many countries, and has limits), making a donation to an organization censored/oppressed by governments (PP blocks donations to Wikileaks), etc.
Secondly, even when you can use the traditional banking system, it is inconvenient: driving 30min to a WU office to receive money, waiting days for wire transfers to complete, etc.
Thirdly, your credit card is tied to an account that your government, bank, or a court can seize for whatever reason (your spouse making fraudulent claims during a divorce going badly, etc). Bitcoin protects you from that. With Bitcoin, you own a purchasing power that no one can regulate or block.
Fourthly, Bitcoin transactions fees are voluntary, hence very low: typically less than 0.01%. This benefits not only sellers, but also buyers. Credit card transactions cost 1-2% (even if you do not see them as a buyer, the seller increase its prices to cover them).
Fifthly, the USD in your account tied to a credit card depreciates over time, because the Federal Reserve prints money continuously (causing long-term inflation). Whereas with Bitcoin your purchasing power is preserved or increased over time, as the maximum number of Bitcoins is capped (causing long-term deflation). Therefore you do not have to resort to various more or less risky investment options to preserve your net worth over your lifetime.
Yes, if the merchant steals from the buyer, the raw BTC transaction is not reversible. But normally merchant has much more to lose than you if he is not nice (and merchants show their commitment by investing a lot in marketing and development) and in rare cases when you transact more money, you can use escrow and extra paperwork. But that's totally optional and is not needed when paying for a coffee, a book, or some inexpensive service.
