Sending money around the world has never been easier than right now. Whether you use Bitcoin, Stellar Lumens, XRP, Bitcoin Cash, Hive or one of the thousands of other cryptocurrencies, transactions have become seamless and almost instantaneous. When comparing that to using a money service such as Western Union and having to go to a physical store to transact (and waiting sometimes up to numerous days to get payments), it can seem shocking to a cryptocurrency user that people are still willing to jump through these hoops to move their money around.
Why are people still averse to using cryptocurrencies? Let’s think about it.
- Silk Road and Black Markets: People who are generally unfamiliar with cryptocurrency may have still heard about Bitcoin, yet not in the way that many of us have. People know of Bitcoin from the mass media headlines regarding people like Ross Ulbricht and the Silk Road getting busted by the FBI. The aspect of cryptocurrency that was highlighted through that event is the anonymous aspect of cryptocurrency transactions. Though the headlines were technically true (you could buy murder for hire or military weapons using Bitcoin), they were also incredibly unforgiving of the positive qualities of Bitcoin. There are people who are scared to use cryptocurrency because of the ambiguity of the legality of cryptocurrency. Mass media does not highlight the aspects of cryptocurrency that make it the libertarian ideal it is, they highlight the news that will sell headlines.
- It is difficult to figure out to start: When comparing a check where you sign the name of the person you will be sending it to with an address such as a Bitcoin address, it can be very confusing for the uninitiated. To: Rob Minnick versus To: 1Q9Uvxof3PWhsk7iLXgup2bgXhFfaX6iYN can be quite difficult to adjust to at first. Now obviously we all know that blockchains like Hive have directly addressed this problem by making your username your address to receive, but we also need to be realistic that most people’s first experience with cryptocurrency will be with Bitcoin. This problem may end up being resolved with universal internet identification efforts, but for the moment the long addresses are a turn-off for less technologically savvy generations.
- Trust in the US government: For those who have been doing quite well financially over the course of their lives, there is really little incentive to switch over to cryptocurrency. Take as an extreme example Warren Buffet. He is one of the richest men in the world and has done that through gaming the existing monetary system; what incentive would he really have to use cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange. Obviously there is incentive to invest in a speculative sense as there are profits to be made, but unfortunately right now, most people still believe in the power of the US government and the financial instruments they sponsor. This is especially negative because investments from the wealthy is what cryptocurrency really needs to blast off in value. To most people there is no immediately obvious reasons to decouple their finances from the government.
How do we address these issues?
In my opinion, the only way to directly address these issues and try to create a world where cryptocurrency is the ideal medium of exchange is to lead by example. By using Web 3.0 such as Hive, we are creating web traffic on an ecosystem that will inevitably become the preferred social media of the future.
If we want people to use cryptocurrency to send money around the world, we need to do it ourselves and make it known just how much more convenient it truly is. If we want people to use cryptocurrency, we need to show them just how much easier it is to use than what exists today.
As a cryptocurrency user, I know that it will inevitably be the future of finance, but I also know there is a lot of dissonance in the general public. We need to fix that and continue to bridge the gaps of understanding we see in the world.
@mariosfame gif once again, I love it
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Who I am:
My name is Rob and I am a college student doing my best to get involved in the crypto world. I have enjoyed blogging thus far and thank you for reading my article! Give me a follow and let’s build the community together through consistent engagement.