How to build a globally distributed cash-crypto exchange

The crypto space attracts an eclectic mixture of visionaries, mercenaries, anarchists and entrepreneurs, many of whom have wildly different reasons for participation. Some Bitcoin-holders appear to be of the belief that cryptocurrency is like a nuclear deterrent: you do whatever it takes to obtain it and then pray you never have to use it. While holding crypto (or HODLing to use the vernacular) is to be encouraged — and during times of skyrocketing value, highly recommended — that’s not the end goal. At least some of that crypto is meant to be spent. The title of Satoshi Nakamoto’s original white paper, remember, was Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Somewhere along the way though, the “electronic cash” part got lost and replaced by the phrase “digital gold”.

We’re not trying to debate what Bitcoin should or should not be used for: that’s the beauty of a decentralized digital currency — anyone can use it as they see fit. What we are trying to do is further debate on ways of making cryptocurrency more suited to everyday use. That, in a nutshell, is what BitPoint is all about: making it easier for the man in the street (or in the countryside, favela or rice paddy) to use digital currency to transfer funds to friends, family and other businesses.

Fiat, Meet Crypto

Bitcoin and its supporting infrastructure has come on in leaps and bounds over the last two years, but one way in which it has arguably regressed is as a payment mechanism. There are now less online vendors accepting Bitcoin than there were three years ago, and that trend presently isn’t showing signs of reversing. The reasons for this are multifaceted but include rising fees and long confirmation times, both of which the Lightning Network should eventually resolve. Bitcoin scaling and mining fees is another debate for another time. For now, let’s just note that more could be done, on all fronts, to make it easier for people to use cryptocurrency in their everyday lives.

And that’s where BitPoint comes in. We’re creating a fiat to crypto teller network that will bridge the gap between the two worlds, because we believe that digital currencies should be for the many and not just the few.

Sneeches on the Beaches

If you’re a Dr Seuss fan, you might recall The Sneetches and Other Stories. In this classic children’s tale, the titular characters were yellow-bellied creatures that strutted around and island, with the ones with stars on their bellies lording it over the ones without. At present, that’s pretty much how it is with fiat and crypto. There’s an “us and them” mentality, with some crypto-holders looking down on their benighted brethren who’ve yet to discover Bitcoin, despite the fact that we’re all the same on the inside, regardless of whether or not we have “stars upon thars”.

So what, you might be wondering, is BitPoint going to do to make crypto accessible for everyone? Well, the master plan goes something as follows: first we’re going to make it super easy for anyone to set up a bidirectional fiat/crypto ATM with minimal costs. (An internet-connected device is all it takes.) Then we will release our mobile teller application. This will allow tellers to sell without being tied to a fixed location. It will include chat and geolocation thus supplementing the core ATM infrastructure. Finally we’ll launch a P2P financing platform on district0x that will allow members to borrow and loan cryptocurrency to fund their teller operations. Having created a global community of crypto brokers and lenders, we intend to empower them to dictate how the BitPoint network is run, utilizing the principles that power autonomous organizations such as Aragon.

DAO Wow

DAOs and crypto projects that shoehorn in the word “decentralization” are trendy right now. We get that. But we’re not running BitPoint as a DAO to catch the latest wave or surf the newest trend: we’re doing it because we firmly believe that this is the best way to run a community-powered organization. DAOs might be en vogue, but BitPoint will still be running autonomously long after they’ve been replaced by the next new thing. It’s a governance model we firmly believe in, for it enables merchants — you know: core users of our product — to vote on decisions that directly affect them. From fees to software development, all major decisions will be made by the people it directly concerns, rather than a board whose primary concern is with boosting their bottom line.

And yes, we do have a token. It’s called BPN and it even has a justifiable use case, powering the management and voting ecosystem we’re developing and facilitating a flexible fee structure. Our commitment to decentralization is about more than simply enfranchising stakeholders incidentally — we’re firmly in #TeamEveryone because we’re not fans of centralized exchanges, with their cumbersome KYC requirements and single point of failure. Our target market includes the world’s unbanked and the sort of individuals who don’t have the means or time to provide over 9,000 identification documents in triplicate every time they want to convert some fiat to crypto and fire it to a friend.

…And They All Lived Happily Ever After

The coda to The Sneetches by Dr Seuss is that an entrepreneur named Sylvester McMonkey McBean appears on the island with a contraption for removing and appending stars to the creatures’ bellies. Pretty soon, The Sneetches can’t recall who originally possessed a star and who didn’t, while the self-styled Fix-It-Up Chappie rides off into the sunset with his millions earned for services rendered. That’s where our business model differs. We may be bridging the gap between crypto and fiat (or stars and non-stars), but we’re keeping fees to a bare minimum. That way, the money stays where the money belongs — with the man on the street. All we’re doing at BitPoint is changing its state and ensuring a happy ever after.

We’re currently seeking alpha testers for the Android release of the BitPoint Terminal app and BitPoint Mobile Wallet. Get involved now and you’ll be the first to benefit from all of the exciting features we’ll be rolling out very soon. But that’s not all: join the BitPoint Network on Telegram where we’ll soon be releasing details of our bounty program as our community continues to go from strength to strength.