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Emerging Cryptocurrency Point-of-Sale Tech Finally Solving the Mass Market Bitcoin Blockade

Traders Magazine Online News, June 26, 2018

Alex Mihaljcic

Almost a decade in the making since the inception of Bitcoin and with a current market-cap hovering around half a trillion dollars USD, Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and blockchain have become common to the tech savvy.  While most people don’t understand how they work, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are not only hot topic buzzwords, but they’ve created thousands of multi-millionaires.  Even so, the vast majority of people in the mainstream have no interest or intent to embrace Bitcoin and, as such, it still has veritably no bearing on everyday life as one still can’t even pay for a cup of coffee with any cryptocurrency.

In the last year alone, the cryptocurrency market cap has grown over ten-fold, and even taking into consideration “bubble-effects” of hype speculation, the fact remains that, since the inception of Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency market cap is following an exponential growth curve. Today this amounts today to over $150Bn, and various expert opinions estimate its future growth in the next 5-10 years to be in the trillions of dollars. With these kinds of numbers, it begs the question: With over $150 billon of cryptocurrency already in circulation, why can’t we yet pay for coffee or a slice pizza with crypto?

Not only this, but why is cryptocurrency languishing in a tech world of its own, far removed from adoption by the regular consumer or average business? And why does it exist only in a digital space, largely accessible only to the tech-wise cryptocurrency investors? Perhaps the most fundamental question that everyone is asking—from economic pundits to families around the kitchen table—is will crypto will ever become common currency to be used by the average person to pay for their groceries, bills or the hair dresser?  Or are Bitcoin and Altcoins just a fad, doomed to remain ensconced in a cult-like tech realm? 

While it’s clear that the only way for cryptocurrency to avoid falling into oblivion is by enabling its widespread adoption and acceptance as a “real” payment method, the reality is that the infrastructure and protocols have not been in place to foster this. In fact, there have been seemingly insurmountable obstacles faced by merchants across the board preventing them from accepting cryptocurrency as a viable form of payment. 

Four of those key reasons include the following:

1. High volatility promotes fiscal vulnerability
Businesses are not cryptocurrency investors and, as such, they cannot be expected to accept risky payments that may lead to serious financial losses. Every business operates with supply costs, margins, etc.  Therefore it would make little business sense to take on a risk of such magnitude by accepting crypto as payment for their goods and services.   What if the local mechanic accepted Bitcoin for several large jobs and then Bitcoin value dropped 20%?  This leaves these sort of business owners, whom have fixed overhead costs, in a vulnerable space where they take payments that fluctuate. 

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