At this point is BTC a good idea? Does it actually provide any damn value at all at a macro level?
Bitcoin at $5,000 a coin was extremely useful for transactions. Bitcoin at $50,000 make it less useful because of scaling issues.
Is there a way I could use the lightening network directly if my exchange doesn't use it behind the scene?
On an exchange you're vulnerable to compromise both from your end and on the exchange's end
Using Lightning is even cheaper.
Just take a look at the most recent blocks, and check the one to one or one to two transactions. https://blockchair.com/bitcoin/transactions?s=fee_usd(asc)&q...
You will see that those transactions cost ~0.10 USD :)
Now he wants to leave Russia, but Russia is being banned from the SWIFT network, so he can't get any of his savings out. Enter Bitcoin again.
It provides macro value to coinbros and wantrapreneurs who think that bragging on social media about fake money is the same thing as owning real money. I guess that's something.
Doesn’t make sense. Why would anyone wire your bank account money to a crypto exchange, convert it to crypto, transfer the crypto to a different bank in another country, then withdraw it when they could just wire the money directly to the other country’s bank?
If you can’t wire money out of your bank account to somewhere else, you probably can’t exchange it for crypto either.