Bitcoin could dramatically reduce the barrier to entry for competing with conventional money transfer services. Entrepreneurs in different countries could help customers convert between their local currency and Bitcoin, and then use the Bitcoin network to actually send the money. Small firms in India, China, or Brazil would be able to send money anywhere in the world — without worrying about how the recipient would convert bitcoins back to the local currency. Low barriers to entry could mean more competition, lower prices, and higher quality service.

A more ambitious use for Bitcoin would be to compete with conventional credit card networks. Already, a growing number of merchants have begun accepting Bitcoin payments. However, a lot more work will be needed to build user-friendly services that allow consumers to make Bitcoin payments. But once again, the low barriers to entry for Bitcoin-based services — more Bitcoin startups are being created every day — means that lots of people will be trying to figure out how to make Bitcoin payments more accessible to consumers.