I am Lee Willson, who started Bitcoin World Tour back in March 2014. AMA!

[willson]

I am Lee Willson, who started Bitcoin World Tour back in March 2014.
My documented adventures can be found via Google/YouTube/Facebook: Bitcoin World Tour.
It is because of this I am being referred to as Bitcoin Ambassador for evangelizing bitcoin everywhere I go.
I enjoy meeting fellow enthusiasts around the world to acquire a more complete picture of the real condition on ground zero.
My mission is to educate the man on the street (including his pet) on the importance and practicality of Bitcoin in everyday life.
For a more evenly (healthy) spread of hash power I am also encouraging corporation to venture in mining just to be in trend.
I am also actively promoting bitcoin related products and services to the non-bitcoin world as a spokesperson.
Smart contract is now my interest too and I am researching into the practical application, starting with Ethereum.
So please feel free to contact me on any relevant issues mentioned above.

[rogerver]

Hi Lee,
I believe we met once in Hong Kong.
Thanks for getting involved!

Here are some of your videos that are amazingly well produced:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN1ULYIVHu0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYFhcBEzxGQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aiKDMv-Jc4

1. Can you provide links to your Google/YouTube/Facebook?
2. What inspired you to go on a Bitcoin world tour?
3. What has been your favorite country and favorite experience so far?

[LISAM]

Which digital currency (litecoin,dogecoin, peercoin etc) do you think has potential oth3r than bitcoin 5 years from now?

[willson]

Bitcoin World Tour
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAtUOs ... k4A/videos
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/bitcoinworldtour/?fref=ts
Website: http://www.bitcoinworldtour.org

I got to know bitcoin in February 2014 when the price was just below $400. As an activist I was overwhelmed by the decentralised concept and total freedom and control of one's own asset. I then search on the web for whatever information relating to bitcoin. Since it was said to be accepted worldwide videos on its practical usage should be on YouTube, or so I thought.

The only clip I managed to find is a commercial one produced by the one-way ATM supplier in Singapore. All others are interviews of professionals and experts in cryptography, and they don't speak in "English" (layman language). After extensive googling Gandhi's famous words came to my mind "Be the change you want to see in the world". So I said to myself, since no one is doing it, why don't I?

I was aware that during then it was widely reported that a couple did a world tour crossing three continents by only using bitcoins. Somehow I search further and found no convincing evidence other than simply hearsay. Therefore I was determined to first prove to myself, and then the world that bitcoin adoption is ever increasing in our everyday lives.

I have always believed that Bitcoin will only be valuable when the mass general public adopts it. Since I am a non-technical person besides invests directly into bitcoin I also participated in contract cloud mining and maximises my market networking advantage to evangelise the crytocurrency. My target audience is the man on the street but so far I have managed to share the concept of bitcoin in the most simplistic manner anyone can understand to bankers and big corporations.

I shall share more of my adventures when time allows.

[willson]

Besides bitcoin litecoin is the only other spin-offs that is distantly close. Due to the nature of blockchain bitcoin is by far the most (or more) trustworthy and hence I don't see any other coming close to rival it, not even the potential permission blockchain by the major banks.
I personally think that ether has the potential to be another major crypto-asset as it is different in nature than that of Bitcoin as smart contracts will eventually amalgamate naturally with the internet of things (iot) which will play an important role in our everyday lives.

[imaginary_username]

Do you see a genuine "Bitcoin economy" that involves regular people taking off in the near future - or, as some apparently Very Smart People^TM said, Bitcoin only has a future as a settlement tool between banks?

[willson]

Although progress had not been very encouraging on the ground I have come across enthusiasts everywhere doing their very best to initiate or support a "Bitcoin Economy". Ubud in Bali Island is a very good case study where a group of Bitcoiners has managed to build the Bitcoin ecosystem involving local merchants there. It needs patience, persistence, consistency and certainly takes time to get something like that to really take off.
One thing's for sure though, is that the adoption of Bitcoin will spread like wild fire when its price goes up. It seems the general public is only interest in its price as they equate it with value. The higher the price, the higher the value, means more people are using it, which is partly true.

We use to think that a merchant must accept Bitcoin to be a Bitcoin accepting merchant, not true. As long as services like Tinkl can be popularised, one needs not accept Bitcoin to be accepting Bitcoin as a mode of payment. Visa does not have a Visa Dollar, Mastercard does not have its own Mastercard Coin. Similarly Bitcoin can purely act as just a mode of payment as long as the conversion process can be operated smoothly within an hour when the price does not fluctuate that much (most of the time).

Debit cards also help a lot in helping more adoption which will eventually contribute to a Bitcoin Economy. However a GENUINE Bitcoin Economy will only exist when there is a general Paradigm Shift from thinking and transacting fiat currency to cryptocurrency, and this takes time, so no, not in the near future, meaning within 2 to 3 years.

As I have always believed, if only very smart people are involved in bitcoin then it's a failure, more ordinary people like me should be using it on a day to day basis, even if just trading.