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The world has acknowledged the existence of cryptocurrency but it is still far a stretch from being embraced. What would facilitate the transition towards its implementation in a global society? This is a question worth a brainstorming session. We have to look at it from the viewpoint of different angles to tackle the challenges and obstacles.
As a consumer, I tried to register for a coin base account. You would think it would be easy, yet I couldn't register and fund the account with my debit visa card and information. I called my bank thinking maybe there was some incorrect information I might have entered. Wrong. The problem wasn't the information. The bank I use doesn't process its card with cryptocurrency websites. Here we are as a consumer at a dead end.
I mention the experience to showcase a point. It's not a flaw in cryptocurrency per se. The whole concept and design of cryptocurrency in itself are great. A Bitcoin today June 8th, 2021 is worth $39,870.33, so the problem isn't its intrinsic value. The problem is that it doesn't have an institutionalized society.
Think about the Japanese Yen, for example, it has its own offline and online banks, its entrepreneurs and businesses, its private lenders, stock market, and so on. Cryptocurrency doesn't have all of that yet or at least key elements of it and that's exactly what it's going to take to get the rest of the world on board. More importantly, the average non-savvy person doesn't know where to look for problems they might encounter. In all likelihood, most of them probably don't use Reddit and they certainly don't use GitHub. When they encounter technological or systematic hurdles they will back away. Hence, the second problem is centralized crypto information, i.e. a CRYPTO.COM for businesses and crypto.org for consumers. These sites would then have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section and a virtual assistant if needed to resolve crucial issues or troubleshooting technical problems.
Hypothetically if cryptocurrency wanted to reach the next level in getting a strong foothold in society. The crypto community has to come together not by individual country but globally. Then the global community needs to combine their resources, funds, social networks to collectively initiate and institutionalize cryptocurrency and the foundations of systematic trust and reliability. Specialized crypto banks with their own Visa and MasterCard, trusted blue-chip crypto businesses, and crypto stocks. This type of project is very ambitious and would only be possible by creating an incentivized venture and investing. In other words a promise of return on investment for contribution and effort. With contracts and smart contracts, this process may be even more so feasible than the beginnings of the Bitcoin era however crypto leaders and enthusiasts need to step up to the plate and take action to get the gears in motion.
Photography credits: Art Rachen. Anderson Djumin. Maxime Lebrun.
