I think the biggest obstacle is the lack of convenient way of nocoiners to get their first coins. I know Haveno, Bisq, etc. have made it so much easier to exchange fiat with the digital cash, but they require participants to already hold some coins as security deposit. Maybe that barrier is what keeps those P2P markets more civilised, nonetheless in the current state nocoiners have to face the chicken-and-egg problem of having to hold coins in order to get more coins.
Other problems remain, e.g. people wouldn't like coin outputs to be frozen for 20 minutes from receiving, wallet syncing is kinda cumbersome, keeping the secret key can be scary for people who are used to traditional services, etc. But people won't experience these issues at all if they can't get some coins in the first place.
Honestly, odds are not so great on Monero: even if all above problems are solved and Monero becomes the easiest way to store and exchange value, that won't guarantee everyone will start to use Monero. Signal is the most convenient way to communicate with close contacts, yet so few use it due to the network effect of the outdated instant messaging apps.
However as the saying goes, the only thing that will ensure defeat is to stop fighting for it. If we want to make Monero mainstream, what we can and should do is clear: make it more useful, and teach more people about the private digital currency. This forum is doing a great job of providing a new way to earn and spend Monero. Maybe you can also take a part, by accepting Monero in your business. Or by catching bugs and building features on Monero software. Or by writing high-quality videos on YouTube that introduce people to Monero. Any challengers?
I think the biggest obstacle is the lack of convenient way of nocoiners to get their first coins. I know Haveno, Bisq, etc. have made it so much easier to exchange fiat with the digital cash, but they require participants to already hold some coins as security deposit. Maybe that barrier is what keeps those P2P markets more civilised, nonetheless in the current state nocoiners have to face the chicken-and-egg problem of having to hold coins in order to get more coins.
Other problems remain, e.g. people wouldn't like coin outputs to be frozen for 20 minutes from receiving, wallet syncing is kinda cumbersome, keeping the secret key can be scary for people who are used to traditional services, etc. But people won't experience these issues at all if they can't get some coins in the first place.
Honestly, odds are not so great on Monero: even if all above problems are solved and Monero becomes the easiest way to store and exchange value, that won't guarantee everyone will start to use Monero. Signal is the most convenient way to communicate with close contacts, yet so few use it due to the network effect of the outdated instant messaging apps.
However as the saying goes, the only thing that will ensure defeat is to stop fighting for it. If we want to make Monero mainstream, what we can and should do is clear: make it more useful, and teach more people about the private digital currency. This forum is doing a great job of providing a new way to earn and spend Monero. Maybe you can also take a part, by accepting Monero in your business. Or by catching bugs and building features on Monero software. Or by writing high-quality videos on YouTube that introduce people to Monero. Any challengers?