Cryptocurrency may well be the future of finance in every way. From payments to tradable assets, there’s plenty of potential in Bitcoin et al. However, for the time being, at least, none of the major blockchains and their associated tokens are in a position to cover all of the general public’s financial needs. They can and possibly will be in the future but, right now, fiat currencies and legacy systems remain the dominant forces in our financial lives.
The prevailing wisdom among some is that the old ways of doing things should be cast aside like a disused rag. Others, however, have the foresight to know that there’s value in lessons from the past and present. To put it less poetically, there are things crypto developers can take from today’s financial ecosystem and use to make their products mainstream. What things are we talking about? Here are a few ideas and systems that may offer something of value to the crypto community.
Ideas That May Offer Something of Value to the Crypto Community
Payments Need to Follow the PayPal Example
One of the biggest barriers to entry for the majority of crypto newbies is the way payments and transfers are made. Although these processes are slowly becoming more streamlined, we’re a world away from the ease and simplicity of a platform such as PayPal. Anyone can click here to discover how PayPal works, but the general premise is simple: you fund an electronic wallet and then enter someone’s email address, PayPal username, or mobile phone number to pay them. Transactions are typically completed in just a few seconds – all it takes is a few mouse clicks/taps.
What’s also nice about PayPal is that you can get a complete overview of all your transactions, link it to bank accounts/cards, and save contacts for faster transfers in the future. All of these features have made PayPal extremely easy to use and, in turn, one of the largest payment processors in the world with more than 390 million active users. Therefore, if crypto exchanges and wallets are going to learn from any company, PayPal is a great one to look at.
We can already see some of its features creeping into the crypto space. Transferring money to another crypto wallet requires you to input an address. That address is a long string of characters and, if just one is wrong, the funds are almost certainly lost forever. This means you can’t afford to get wallet addresses wrong. However, when they contain so many characters, it’s easy to make a mistake. Fortunately, almost all exchanges and wallets allow you to copy and paste addresses.
From this, platforms such as Binance appear to have taken inspiration from eWallets such as PayPal because you can now save addresses. This means you don’t have to copy and paste wallet addresses every time you want to send tokens to people you know. It’s not quite as slick as PayPal’s system, but it’s an improvement and a sign that crypto developers are trying to learn from their counterparts in other areas of the financial sector.
Exchanges Need to Serve Everyone
From payments, we get to trading. The value of tokens is constantly changing and we know that a large part of the current interest in Bitcoin et al is tied up in this. Despite the fact billions of dollars in crypto are traded every day, exchanges are still not as easily accessible as they could be. The current shortcomings are obvious when you compare the average crypto exchange to an established online trading platform dealing in stocks, forex, commodities, and other traditional securities.
Indeed, you can click here to visit INFINOX and see that it offers a comprehensive service that no cryptocurrency can match. This platform not only allows registered users to trade 300+ instruments, but it also provides a free demo account, expert insights, beginner guides, and analytical tools. It also has a social feature that allows users to follow professionals and mirror their trades. These features cater to traders at both ends of the experience spectrum. Moreover, they have the potential to take a complete novice and turn them into an experienced trader.
Even the biggest crypto exchanges can’t match this level of service. Yes, some of them have blogs offering tips and advice. However, things like copy trading aren’t available. What’s more, the actual process of buying and selling cryptocurrency isn’t always easy. That’s because most exchanges allow you to use tokens to buy tokens e.g. you can use BTC to buy ETH. This means you’ve got more options, which is great.
However, when someone is new to crypto trading, this can also be overwhelming. Therefore, it could be a good idea to have an option for hiding all other tokens except fiat when it comes to buying crypto tokens. This may be against the spirit of the industry, but it would make crypto exchanges more like their traditional counterparts which could make things more appealing for novices.
Business Partnerships Are a Must
The final thing crypto companies can take from their more traditional counterparts in the financial world is partnerships. This isn’t the fault of crypto developers. However, what needs to happen before crypto usage becomes ubiquitous is the formation of new partnerships. PayPal et al are used by online and offline businesses in all industries. Based on what we’ve already said about eWallets and how easy they are to use, it’s easy to see why people are more inclined to pay for goods and services using these processors.
When more businesses are willing to integrate crypto wallets into their services, that’s when more people will start to release the potential of Bitcoin et al. This requires some sense of innovation from businesses as they need to embrace new technologies to facilitate crypto payments. However, it’s possible. According to account firm Deloitte, more than 2,300 US businesses accepted cryptocurrency in 2020. If this number continues to grow and developers are willing to take useful ideas from elsewhere in the financial sector, we could see cryptos enter mainstream usage within the next decade.