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A decade ago, people were certain that crypto would be the currency of choice in the US and across the globe by the 2020s. That hasn’t happened. Americans are as fond of their dollars as ever. However, there are some areas in which Bitcoin has gained a strong foothold and is at least approaching the mainstream. Now, some 14 years after the first Bitcoin was mined, crypto payment gateways are becoming commonplace. They are making transactions easier for both buyers and sellers.
It is not enough to come up with some great innovations and expect the world to embrace them with open arms. In fact, it is practically Business Innovation 101: Do not create a solution to a problem that does not exist. There are dozens of examples out there – anyone for a can of New Coke? – and some argue that Satoshi Nakamoto made exactly that mistake. Crypto is clever and brings all sorts of benefits. However, nobody asked for it and it has not been pitched as something that will solve a problem or ease a pain point.
Casino players and B2B trading companies leading the way
At least, the above is true unless you happen to be an American who likes playing casino games. Disparate banking regulations from one US state to another and a risk-averse approach to internet gambling legislation combine to mean that most banks will refuse to process transactions to or from gambling businesses.
Initially, that left US gamblers searching for another solution. A glance at online casino review site GamblingSites.com suggests that crypto might just be it. US crypto casinos were a relatively specialist niche five years ago, but today, dozens of online casinos serving US customers have incorporated Bitcoin and altcoin payment gateways because that is what their customers want.
The other area that has seen significant levels of adoption is in international B2B transactions. When someone completed a peer to peer transfer worth $99 million in Litecoin in 2018, it initially seemed like a publicity stunt. Yet the fact that the transaction took less than three minutes to complete and cost $0.40 in fees soon got people thinking.
Sending that amount by bank wire would cost thousands and would take days, not to mention all the form-filling. There are three pain points right there, and crypto presents itself as a solution. Data from Juniper Research indicates that more than half of multinational businesses now use crypto for cross border transactions, and by the end of next year, cross border B2B transfers using crypto will top $4.4 trillion.
It takes a pain point to reap the benefits
Online casino gamblers and international B2B traders might seem to be worlds apart, but they have this one common factor. Both have become niches in which crypto adoption has really started to take off and become part of the mainstream. The interesting point is that having discovered Bitcoin and its ability to overcome their specific primary pain points, they have come to appreciate crypto’s other benefits, too.
For example, gamblers appreciate the anonymity that a Bitcoin gambling account provides, they like the transaction speeds, which take seconds as opposed to potential days for a bank transfer. They admire the security that blockchain provides, which is as close to hacker-proof as anything can claim to be.
Likewise, the international businesses appreciate the convenience of crypto and the fact that it eliminates exchange rate losses. It gives them easier access to global talent as well as solving the specific pain points of slow, bureaucratic and costly cross-border transactions.
The net result? Both casino gamblers and B2B businesses making cross border transactions are more cognizant of the benefits of crypto and more inclined to use it where Bitcoin payment gateways make it possible.
Wider adoption is inevitable
Convenience, speed, security, anonymity, reduced transaction costs – these are all positive aspects that would benefit anyone, individual or corporation, whether they are buying a cup of coffee or a fleet of trucks.
However, these have not historically been specific pain points. Nobody complains about the inconvenience of withdrawing cash to buy a coffee or the data security risk attached to using a credit card to pay for a Netflix subscription. In other words, while they probably would notice benefits of adopting crypto, they feel no dissatisfaction with the status quo and no real incentive to change.
That is gradually shifting as more use cases for blockchain come to the fore with every passing year and more businesses offer Bitcoin payment gateways to their customers. This pattern will increase as individuals and businesses become more involved in the metaverse. As that happens, both merchants and customers will make increasing use of crypto payment gateways and we will see more and more examples like the two we mentioned earlier. The logical endpoint will be the mass adoption that was predicted all those years ago.
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