“Bitcoin *is* a convenient medium of exchange—blockchain transactions are quick and lack transaction costs.”
Aren’t Bitcoin transaction times north of 10 minutes?
They can be longer than that, but when you compare it to a wire transfer, with fees coming and going, the blockchain is not only an order of magnitude faster, it’s cheaper too.
You’ll never get an answer to “What is the MAXIMUM transaction rate for bitcoin?”. I’ve asked at least a dozen times and all you get from crypto fanboys is crickets chirping.