The real-life use of cryptocurrencies is closer than you think

The ultimate goal of every crypto enthusiast is to be able to pay for their daily purchased items with cryptocurrency, a phenomenon which has sparked the interest of many in the last few years and has increased incredibly in popularity. However, while cryptocurrencies have a lot to offer, in matter of benefits to consumers, it has to be acknowledged that the whole crypto/blockchain world is in a stage of development which does not allow it to be fully embraced by society.

There are plenty of benefits which would succeed cryptocurrency becoming a world wide spread currency of common use, decentralization being of most importance. Said decentralization (the removal of a third-party-entity within a transaction), would consequently entitle five major benefits to individuals, such as: decrease of fraud, lower risk of identity theft, immediate settlement, no transaction fees and finally access to everyone, even in countries where people with an internet connection do not have the possibility to access traditional exchange systems (1/3 Kenyans own a Bitcoin wallet.)

Why is it then, that most businesses and people are not using nor buying cryptocurrencies today?

There are two main reasons for this:

1. People tend to not really understand how they can benefit from crypto or where the coins are coming from or even how they are valued;

2. Some of the individuals who do understand it, or are interested enough to try and purchase crypto, have trouble going through the process of buying it because of its intricacy.

The logical solution to these problems, which would facilitate the spread of cryptocurrency, would be providing the consumer a range of Dapps (decentralized apps) and products that would make buying crypto coins easier, mainly by lowering the barriers to acquire them. The consumer does not necessarily need to have a full knowledge of what is going on behind the scenes, just like most people did and still do not fully understand the internet and the complexion of how it came to be in the early stages a few decades ago or even how it currently works. To this day most people do not know how they are able to send an email with a picture of roses to their mom, but it’s convenient to them and, with a few simple steps, they’re able to perform that action. Spreading awareness of the benefits is enough to bring people to take a step towards a new technology, when the process does not require technical niche skills.

If crypto-currencies were to become a staple in the world’s near future currencies, it’s of crucial importance that crypto-currency-supporting businesses find a way to guide people through the process by simplifying it.

I stumbled upon a good example of this in the Divi Project. Their aim is, in fact, to achieve a mass adoption of cryptocurrencies. By creating a user-friendly-wallet, which accepts multiple coins, and their crypto banking features, which simplify the management of crypto, they set a big step forward into global adoption of cryptocurrencies.

Another new innovative solution I have found to the problematics which hinder the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies is offered by the start-up Volareo, which introduces a new user friendly way of buying crypto and using cryptocurrencies to buy products and services: via voice command.

Volareo has developed what seems to be a regular smart speaker, but has a complete different mission than current Smart Speaker manufacturers. By introducing themselves into the growing voice commerce market, their claims of being able to introduce a wide group of people to blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies seem plausible. They claim they will take advantage of a growing voice commerce market expected to be over $40 billion in the US and UK alone. They want to solve the crypto usage problem by leveraging a position in the voice commerce market as a decentralized, open source alternative.

Looking at more specific aspects, thanks to the development of the first Blockchain network that focuses on Voice-First Development (VDApps), Volareo’s smart speaker will be the first one to utilize blockchain technology. Users will be able, after a quick set-up, to buy cryptocurrencies by voice-command. This voice controlled exchange (Volareo’s first VDApp) will eliminate completely the tedious process of buying crypto manually and will, therefore, allow the most non-technically knowledgeable individual to purchase cryptocurrencies. Volareo’s software will not only support Bitcoin and Ethereum, but also different ERC20 Tokens. The open source nature of the network will invite developers to join in and create endless use cases for spending cryptocurrencies. According to their IndieGoGo promo video, users will be able to use crypto to buy their products, as demonstrated in the ending scene: “Order mom roses, and pay with Ether.”

Although it’s still to be seen how functional their product will be and how easy it will actually be to use it, Volareo is another company introducing to the world a product which will take us one step closer to a mass-adoption of crypto.

In conclusion, despite the fact there are still a lot of steps to be taken concerning mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, it is exciting to see these steps being taken by some start-ups. Such steps will allow us to get closer to a daily and simplified use of cryptocurrencies and eventually the day will come, when you will be able to use your smart speaker to order your mom roses using cryptocurrency.