What is bitcoin capable of doing? What are the changes it can bring about in the current world we live in? Everyone has different answers to these questions, but when all these answers are summed up, it points out to three categories that bitcoin will benefit.
Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase also shares the same view as others about the potential uses of bitcoin. Brian Armstrong expressed his views about the usefulness of bitcoin on one of the podcasts. He was recently featured in a16z Podcast hosted by Christopher Mims of Wall Street Journal. In Brain’s words, bitcoin has a huge potential to change the fintech sector across the globe.
In the podcast, Brian Armstrong mentions that many bitcoin companies and enthusiasts are more focusing towards working on solutions for developing nations and other grey areas instead of working on improving conventional banking and financial services in developed and developing nations alike. Integrating bitcoin technology into conventional banking operations can increase the overall efficiency of the sector by reducing the time and cost associated with transactions. Bitcoin is capable of drastically reducing transaction and compliance costs associated with money transfer and banking operations respectively.
The potential of bitcoin to make financial services accessible to the unbanked and underbanked population across the world is another important benefit bitcoin can offer. Brain Armstrong, in the podcast mentions about the importance of bitcoin in bringing financial services to those people in developing world, who otherwise would have no access to the growing digital commerce market.
He also gives as example of the growing usage of mobile currency like mPesa in developing countries like Kenya and Nigeria. According to him, bitcoin powered mobile financial services will be a great way to provide access to financial services in the underdeveloped and developing world.
Apart from alternative banking and financial services, internet applications like crowdfunding platforms, donation platforms, peer to peer money transfer applications and wallets that support microtransactions can also be built by leveraging upon the properties of bitcoin. These new application’s don’t compete directly with conventional solutions, but have their own niche.