Instead of imagining the tremendous technological revolution that is blockchain, try to imagine how it will change your life. No one knows the answer to this question, but it’s possible to do some speculations on what might be possible.

Imagine traveling by plane using Ether (the cryptocurrency) as its currency. You win 500 US dollars worth of Ether playing poker against another high roller sitting next to you on the plane. Everyone within 5 rows is smiling because they’ve probably won free money too!

There was no safe way for these two individuals to transfer their digital assets without utilizing an intermediary or reverting to physical cash/notes, which are difficult and expensive to transact with over distance. Using Ether or any cryptocurrency for that matter eliminates the need to trust each other in terms of upholding what is known as “the deal.” The blockchain acts as the intermediary by recording these transactions on a public ledger that anyone can access. This allows for transparency and immutability (i.e., data recorded cannot be erased), two essential characteristics in building trust between parties when transacting in digital assets.

As you would have read in my previous blog, transfer fees are reduced to nothing compared to cross-border bank transfers where fiat currency is used. Why? Because there are no middlemen involved! People begin taking crypto more seriously the moment they find out how cheap it is to use.

Make a beginning 

People are willing to start using different cryptocurrencies that they believe in. For example, some people would prefer using Ether instead of Bitcoin because it is more efficient and cheaper since it allows for smart contracts. Some people would start subscribing to a religion whose leader offers their religion’s token as part of your baptism! 

After all, these tokens are scarce, which means once you have them, what could stop you from beginning to trade them or sell them? An open market determines its value, so it’s worth is whatever someone else will pay for it today. Imagine if the church leader declared that each participant must remit 10% of their annual salary into the church treasury via this cryptocurrency. This would cause mass adoption due to the fact that it gives people an incentive to save and change their current saving patterns (most people don’t save).

People might even begin to form their cryptocurrencies based on the personal interests of a particular group of people. This would be done by creating a new blockchain that will store all previously verified transactions that have taken place within the community/group of interest. A cryptocurrency could then be used as a coupon or token that can provide discounts to events such as concerts, movies, theaters, etc… The possibilities are limitless.

How to start

The easiest way to get involved is by owning some cryptocurrency and trading it on one of many popular exchanges out there, such as Poloniex, Bitfinex, Kraken, GDAX, and more! Since the transaction fees of cryptocurrencies have been consistently going down, it’s an opportunity that is too good to miss. Refer to RemoteDBA.com for inputs. 

You may ask, however, what’s stopping more people from wanting to try this currency itself? The answer can be found by asking yourself how many people understand cryptocurrencies in the first place. There are only 24 million ethereum wallets out there (compared to billions of bank accounts worldwide). Even if you’re among the 1% who currently own cryptocurrency, it’s still early days because the technology behind them (i.e., blockchain) hasn’t yet become mainstream or easy enough for anyone to use in their daily lives. This is where people like us come in… People want to help educate others on how they can start using these digital currencies in their lives.

My last blog talked about how Blockchain can be used to track the distribution of aid to refugees. This article talks about how you can start using cryptocurrencies today. The takeaway message here is that many people are still oblivious to digital currencies. Still, as time goes on, they become more widely known, and people begin adapting to them by integrating them into their daily lives. You may even start buying your favorite coffee every morning with Ether!

The question now becomes, what’s stopping you? What is stopping me from using Bitcoins is the lack of knowledge about cryptocurrencies in general. If I’m not aware of it, how do I acquire some? Also, if I don’t know how to buy it, then there must be a catch. It sounds too good to be true (and most likely it is).  -Anonymous 

Why do people hesitate?

The only thing stopping me from buying cryptocurrencies is my fear of holding something that nobody else wants. I have cash, but I’m afraid to put it into a machine and push a button that says buy Ether because then if the price drops, you lose money (the value that you see on your portfolio isn’t always actual). -Anonymous

I want to think nothing is stopping me from integrating cryptocurrencies into my everyday life right now. However, as was stated above, many challenges exist for this technology to become mainstream, such as the lack of knowledge about blockchain and its potential (i.e., what can we do with it?), volatility hindering market growth, transaction fees keeping people from using them daily, etc… The list goes on…

I’ve found that the biggest hurdle to mass adoption is overcoming people’s fear of change. Many people are fine with paying fees for their transactions, they like waiting 3-5 business days for a bank transfer to take place, and they can’t seem to comprehend how completely digital currencies could affect them in the future. 

If you want to start using cryptocurrencies in your everyday life, I would suggest starting by buying some Ether today at one of many exchanges available such as Coinbase  (get $10 in free Bitcoin when you buy more than $100 worth), Gemini, Bit stamp, etc…Or if you’re looking for a much more volatile investment then have a look at ICOs.  As the name suggests, an ICO is an initial offer of a cryptocurrency to the public. This can be compared to an IPO or Initial Public Offering in stocks. If you’re looking for long-term investments, I would suggest buying Ether and holding it until you feel comfortable using it for money, business transactions, etc…

If you don’t have the time or money to invest in cryptocurrencies at this point but are still interested in seeing how they work, look into cloud mining! For about $92/month (~$1040/year), you can get access to ethereum mining power. If you want to use this same amount of electricity every month on your own hardware instead, then that would cost more than $1300/year