When the price of cryptocurrencies falls, as it has in recent weeks, it is easy to become bearish about it; however, 12 years after the first operation where a transaction was settled with bitcointhese instruments have shown their potential for the world of payments and sending of value, according to Daniel Vogel, co-founder and CEO of the exchange bitso.
This Sunday is the bitcoin pizza day alluding to May 22, 2010, when a Florida programmer, Laszlo Hanyecz, successfully traded 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas, ushering in the era of cryptocurrencies as means of payment.
For Vogel, during this time the cryptocurrencies they have been adapted to the daily lives of their users, whether to buy cars, planes or houses, or to be adopted as legal tender, as happened with El Salvador.
“Each of these use cases positions bitcoin and to cryptocurrencies more broadly, as an alternative to traditional fiduciary currencies, equally valid, useful and valuable”, can be read in a document that Vogel made on the occasion of the bitcoin pizza day.
In this context, the co-founder of the exchange bitsowhich has already achieved unicorn status by achieving a valuation of more than 1,000 million dollars, indicated that cryptocurrencies have recently shown that they can be an alternative for the settlement of cross-border payments.
“A new class of use cases is emerging that positions cryptocurrencies not only as an equal alternative to fiat currency, but as a better option. It is perhaps the most important use for Latin America: international payments”, highlighted Vogel.
According to different analyzes referred to by Vogel, global corporations move about 23.5 billion dollars between countries each year, while global remittances are estimated to reach 630,000 million dollars by 2022. For Vogel, this is an area of opportunity for cryptocurrencies by cutting out the middleman and allowing people to send funds directly in minutes, rather than days like traditional methods.
“In fact, a report from Juniper Research suggests that blockchain technology will reduce the cost of international transactions by $10 billion by 2030. Beyond helping businesses with their bottom line, these savings help people pay other bills. essential goods and services, such as rent, groceries and family care,” Vogel said.
transformation of society
The co-founder of bitso indicated that since the creation in 2009 of the bitcoinits promoters have sought to demonstrate all the benefits of cryptocurrencies, which has resulted in efforts that already have foundations.
Vogel stressed that new blockchain Y cryptocurrencieswhich means that there are already comparisons of its massive adoption with that of the Internet at the end of the 20th century.
“When market crashes occur, it is easy to become bearish on cryptocurrencies. However, the value of cryptocurrencies is not their price, but their use,” Vogel wrote.
Under this premise, Vogel indicated that cryptocurrencies have the potential to facilitate transactions and make them faster, simpler, more affordable, which can translate into benefits for the people who need it most.
“Its ability to facilitate faster, easier and more affordable transactions, help the people who need it most with agility, facilitate complex global processes and bring financial freedom to people, is what will inevitably lead to billions of people around the world. world to adopt the technology and achieve a better life with it,” Vogel said.
The director of bitso concluded that in all this evolution, there is no doubt the great leap that the cryptocurrencies from the simple purchase of pizza 12 years ago.
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