Crypto Users Are Still Scared to Pay With Bitcoin in 2019 — FIO Protocol Aims to Fix That

Over the last few months, a number of cryptocurrency wallet and exchange providers have joined the Foundation for Interwallet Operability (FIO). The foundation aims to improve digital currency operability because it believes the user experience (UX) for cryptocurrencies is poor and the majority of wallets cannot handle payment requests between wallets. On March 12, a published FIO research study suggested that 60 percent of crypto users are “still scared to make a bitcoin payment.”

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Wallets and Exchanges Join the Growing FIO Initiative

According to statistics from a recently published FIO study, 60 percent of crypto users are still scared to make a bitcoin payment and roughly 11 percent of those surveyed who used crypto last year did so more than once a week. The Foundation for Interwallet Operability introduced the FIO protocol back in November to make sending and receiving crypto payments as seamless as possible for users. Currently, a large portion of the crypto wallet ecosystem doesn’t have a standard payment request system and each blockchain has a unique address format. Moreover, metadata is not supported by most blockchain-based wallets. The FIO protocol allows multiple address formats to be mapped to the same system, which provides users the ability to own multiple FIO addresses inside a single wallet. The system can also allow for metadata interoperability so concepts like op_return-powered transactions and colored coins can thrive.

Numerous wallets and exchanges have joined FIO’s initiative like Edge, BRD, Mycelium, Shapeshift, Mycrypto, Keepkey, Trust Wallet, and Coinomi. FIO addresses and domains bypass addresses with long alphanumeric strings and use human-readable addresses that work similarly to email. “[Transferring] cryptocurrencies can be quite complex and intimidating to users of all stripes — But the FIO protocol is attempting to make these actions easier, rich with data, and more versatile,” Edge wallet’s Brett Musser wrote in a blog post about the protocol on Jan. 31.

FIO Research Shows 60% of Crypto Users Are Still ‘Uncomfortable’ With Transferring Bitcoin

On March 12, FIO published a research report that surveyed over 200 cryptocurrency holders. Participants were asked about how frequently they transfer cryptocurrencies and their experiences dealing with digital assets. The report is part of FIO’s ongoing research to discover trends on blockchain usability and overall user experience.

FIO’s study revealed that 60 percent of respondents were “uncomfortable” with making a bitcoin payment. However, “there was a statistically significant increase in users who marked ‘very comfortable’ based on the length of their time in crypto,” the study noted.

After publishing the study, the foundation noted that blockchain usability requires significant improvement, tweeting:

Usability in crypto has a long way to go, and FIO is just one piece of the puzzle.

Any blockchain wallet provider, exchange, payment processor or other crypto company can join the FIO initiative. The foundation explained that end users can also engage with the FIO system and seek out early opportunities to secure FIO addresses. Additionally, the foundation believes the FIO protocol adds a layer of privacy to transferring cryptocurrencies, stating: “With the FIO protocol enabled, users have no need to see the public address and would need to build a FIO enabled wallet in order to view it.”

What do you think about the Foundation for Interwallet Operability (FIO)? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image credits: Shutterstock, FIO, and Twitter.

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