Recently I wrote an article on how network effects will be what launches cryptocurrencies into the mainstream. In it I mentioned how as the number of users of cryptocurrencies increases, more people will sign up as well, essentially creating a positive feedback loop for cryptocurrencies that will end up in the mainstream adoption of them. This process is not inevitable. For network effects to be take over, a certain critical mass point must first be met.

Given the impacts cryptocurrencies, ICOs, and the underlying blockchain technology has already had on the tech industry, it would be an understatement to say that it has reached critical mass in this market. For the wider community however, cryptocurrencies still has a long way to before reaching critical mass.

Current Issues Holding Back Adoption

There are several issues currently holding crypto back from reaching the critical mass point for mainstream adoption.

Price volatility of bitcoin and other coins, the scourge of fake ICOs, transaction time constraints and costs are all examples. That is not to say these problems are hardcoded into cryptocurrency — but rather the opposite.

For instance, Segwit and the Lightning Network should result in improved transaction times on the Bitcoin network. Stablecoins like Havven, MakerDAI and Basis, are tackling volatility by creating stablecoins which aim to maintain a US$1 price through different incentive mechanisms. Token and ICO transparency is also being improved with projects such as Messari.

The community’s eagerness to address these challenges is a testament to the belief and optimism those in the industry have in the future of this technology.

While addressing these challenges are vital to the longer term viability of cryptocurrencies, an equally critical issue holding back crypto adoption is ensuring the technology is easily accessible for the average person. Although the flurry of people wanting to enter crypto has led to the creation of increasingly user-friendly services such as Coinbase and cex.io, this has attracted predominantly traders and speculators. As such, these services are heavily geared towards investing and trading, and not as promoting cryptocurrencies as a replacement for fiat currency.

On top of that, signing up for these services, as simple as it may be, is still too high of a hurdle for the general population. In these early days of crypto, the only way most people are going to start using cryptocurrencies is if they’re pretty much handed them. The average person isn’t going to jump through hoops such as KYC checks and private key protection. Even if they do, getting them to actually spend them as a currency will require a solution where they need to expend a near zero amount of effort.

Convincing people to start using crypto will require a much more seamless process that requires virtually zero effort on their behalf. So that while the transition from fiat to cryptocurrencies may represent a giant leap behind the scenes, for most people the transition will be seamless and feel like a natural progression. The same as the shift from the gold standard to fiat money a few decades ago.

Sendy Represents a Seamless Solution

Sendy is a decentralised email platform built on the Ethereum protocol where marketers are able to reward their subscribers for engaging with their email campaigns through micro-payments backed by its own ERC 20 token.

In this system, email subscribers will accumulate these tokens through simply engaging with emails from senders on the Sendy system. No software, plugins or any change in behaviour is required from email users whatsoever in order to start accumulating Sendy tokens. This system represents the most seamless integration of accumulating cryptocurrencies possible.

Email marketers will be the ones promoting cryptocurrency adoption with Sendy in the form of staking tokens to their email campaigns. This will enable them to achieve an increase in engagement through attention-metrics including opens and clicks, as email subscribers will be rewarded with tokens for engaging in these behaviours. In a world, where ~80% of marketing emails aren’t opened by the intended audience a small increase in engagement can result in massive knock-on effects on a businesses bottom-line.

While redeeming accumulated tokens and being able to use them will require some effort on behalf of the user, Sendy aims to make this as user-friendly as possible. Every email sent from senders using Sendy will contain a footer displaying how many tokens the user has accumulated. Not just from that particular sender, but a total from all the senders using Sendy. That way, they will see their amount of tokens steady increase over time. Eventually the amount of tokens will incentivise the user to expend the little amount of effort to redeem the tokens and become crypto users.

How This Accelerates Adoption

This presents a unique solution where, unlike the majority of tokens, Sendy tokens are earned without a change in behaviour. Other tokens require either mining or purchasing through an exchange which are both daunting for your average Joe given requirements such as KYC checks. Allowing users to earn tokens through engaging with emails means that people new to cryptocurrency do not have to deal with the learning curve that currently exists.

The real Trojan Horse of Sendy is that it incentivises the creation of a digital wallet to store earned tokens. Not only will this help familiarise users with concepts such as digital storage and private keys, but it allows for a sense of accomplishment. This is where network effects are then able to drive adoption growth.

When people start realising how easy redeeming their Sendy tokens is, they will start talking. Word-of-mouth will then spread of not only Sendy, but of how useful cryptocurrencies are too. Before long these users will also realise the wider benefits that come with decentralised, pseudonymous, digital currencies. And critically, this message will begin to be spread by regular people outside of the tech industry. Don’t underestimate how much more reassuring it is to have this message come from a friend or family member, as opposed to a programmer being interviewed on TV.

Ultimately, it will be regular people who drive the mainstream growth of cryptocurrencies. The role the tech industry has got to play at the moment is to make it easy as possible for them to get the ball rolling.

Interested in Sendy? Then why not join our telegram community: https://t.me/sendytoken and follow us on twitter: @sendytoken, and our CEO & Co-Founder, George Hartley — @gthartley.

We’re the same team behind Sendicate and Smartrmail, and last year helped over 7,000 businesses send over 1 billion emails. We believe that a user’s attention is a valuable resource, and created Sendy to enable marketers to reward their subscribers for engaging with emails.

Check out our site: https://sendy.network/