Can Cryptocurrencies Be Used As A Medium Of Exchange In Our Daily Transactions?.

[Tribalchief]

Introduction
The world of business involves exchanges, which means there is a generally acceptable medium that allows buyers and sellers to come to an agreement. Money happens to be a keyword in the world of business due to its value, worth, and how it's generally accepted. Over the years, money has evolved and undergone several transformations just to meet the portability and durability purposes of every user. Coins and banknotes are the common forms of money in our world today, though other things give a similar presentation.

After searching the internet, I just couldn't find a proper word that describes what money truly defines. Of course, it's a generally acceptable means of payment, but why is money a general means of payment? I asked myself this. The reason why money acts as a generally acceptable means of payment is because money appears to be a general language that is understandable by those living in a certain region.

Ideally, we all expect the majority of those who are born in the US to understand the English language and also be able to communicate with it. The same thing goes for those in Spain; they should be able to understand Spanish and communicate with it. This puts money in a similar situation; it is generally accepted because everyone understands its value and should be able to communicate with it through exchange and transactions.

With money acting as a generally acceptable language for transactions, it has its own limitations. Those in the US make general use of the US dollar because the majority of the people understand it a lot. This has caused limitations to the usage of other forms of money like the Euros, Pounds, Ruble, etc. Citizens of America would find some of those currencies strange because they are not their common form of language for transactions.

Cryptocurrency
Just as the world keeps evolving technologically, we are beginning to see its great impact in the finance sector. Cryptocurrency, which is digital money, happens to be a new form of money that uses encryption technology. With the usage of Blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies are represented in virtual forms rather than physical fiats such as coins and banknotes. Cryptocurrencies already offer more than portability and durability, making them safer to secure.

An interesting fact about cryptocurrency is that it breaks the language barrier of normal fiat currencies, making it act as a general language acceptable in every part of the world. Cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, Sol, etc., are all presented in the same form in every country but are measured relatively with the traditional fiats of every individual country.

Because cryptocurrency breaks the language barrier of normal fiats, it makes it a better form of money than every other traditional fiat. Interestingly, cryptocurrency can be sent from any part of the world just like teleportation, as long as both users have the necessary software that can run crypto protocols, which is a crypto wallet.

We've been able to identify why cryptocurrencies can be used as a medium of exchange, but we need to consider a major key in achieving such a theory. A major key necessary in achieving such a theory is Mass Adoption. There are certain conditions necessary for mass adoption, but would be introduced in the topic number 76: "What challenges do cryptocurrencies face in achieving mainstream adoption?".

So back to the question: Can Cryptocurrencies Be Used As A Medium Of Exchange In Our Daily Transactions?. The answer is YES.


Please note, I suggest that the conditions necessary for mass adoption be introduced in topic number 76, as they fit better within that topic.

Thanks for reading, and do well to share your opinion.

[Cryptsafe]

The one thing I so much cherish about crypto currency is the fact that we are our own bank. Cryptocurrency does not require a third party such as the bank to keep your assets safe but rather you have control over your assets and nobody knows anything about your assets. You can move from one place to another with your assets being mobile with you. Your assets privacy is guaranteed without any security threat.

Finally, in terms of transactions, there is nothing like middle man commission or bank charges with exorbitant fee charges, nobody is there to ask silly questions on what you used your money for just as the bank do ask before granting loans. There are lots to many to talk about.  Let me just end it all up here with this, " Bitcoin is the freedom of the account."

[MrSpasybo]

We've been able to identify why cryptocurrencies can be used as a medium of exchange, but we need to consider a major key in achieving such a theory. A major key necessary in achieving such a theory is Mass Adoption. There are certain conditions necessary for mass adoption, but would be introduced in the topic number 76: "What challenges do cryptocurrencies face in achieving mainstream adoption?".

So back to the question: Can Cryptocurrencies Be Used As A Medium Of Exchange In Our Daily Transactions?. The answer is YES.

The use of crypto in daily micropayments has been mentioned for a long time, perhaps since the birth of BTC, but it has not yet become popular for many reasons. Perhaps only the people of El Salvador are experiencing this feature fully thanks to the new policy and technology of Lightning Network.

In other countries, legal issues still prevent the widespread adoption of crypto. For example, in Vietnam, using crypto instead of fiat in payments is considered illegal and can lead to very severe penalties. The government wants to protect the position and value of fiat in the economy, and they are not ready to experiment with crypto.

People's awareness is also a barrier. We live in this market so we feel crypto is important, but others don't care about crypto and don't think it's important. For them, fiat is enough, and if fiat depreciates, they have gold as a reliable reserve asset.

[TomPluz]

Isn't that the major reason why we have cryptocurrency...to act as the medium of exchange in a peer-to-peer fashion? Within more than a decade of its existence though we still have to see that vision come true in a massive way because even if Bitcoin is quite so popular already it is more of an investment vehicle or to make more money rather than act like the money which can be use to buy a candy, a soft drink or a condom in a convenience store. So what are the things hindering that big vision to come true, in the first place. One is the scalability problem. Two is the extreme volatility where a coin can go up and down anytime of the day. Three is the fact that people are speculating so they would rather store their coin in their wallet and wait for it to go x10 or x100 so they can be rich. And I belong to the last category though my BTC is not that big, actually.

[bitmover]

I think people forgetting that daily transactions aren't just the small ones.
There are many big daily or weekly transactions which are already done with cryptocurrency.  Larger transactions,  with more money. Specially for remittances or as a store of value.

I don't think that buying coffee with crypto is that important.

[Ambatman]

Isn't that the major reason why we have cryptocurrency...to act as the medium of exchange in a peer-to-peer fashion? Within more than a decade of its existence though we still have to see that vision come true in a massive way because even if Bitcoin is quite so popular already it is more of an investment vehicle or to make more money rather than act like the money which can be use to buy a candy, a soft drink or a condom in a convenience store. So what are the things hindering that big vision to come true, in the first place. One is the scalability problem. Two is the extreme volatility where a coin can go up and down anytime of the day.

I think when you said cryptocurrency you meant Bitcoin, the major reason it was created is for decentralization for individual to be their own bank removing the need of a central body. I think OP is talking about cryptocurrency and unlike Bitcoin there are coins that ain't having scalabilty issue or that volatile, Stable coins like USDT are examples of such among others.  Answering OP question, Cryptocurrency is already been used and can be used as a medium of exchange but the market that accept it are few. There are individuals in this forum and others including BTT that accept cryptos for their service or goods and not to mention places while few that allows the purchase of merchandise using certain cryptocurrency. Though it's not yet widely accepted like traditional currency, it can still play a role as a medium of exchange.

[Lucius]

The use of crypto in daily micropayments has been mentioned for a long time, perhaps since the birth of BTC, but it has not yet become popular for many reasons. Perhaps only the people of El Salvador are experiencing this feature fully thanks to the new policy and technology of Lightning Network.

Perhaps a big myth has been created that Bitcoin is generally accepted in that country, but even as a legal tender it has very little use in the general population. An ordinary person who has no knowledge about Bitcoin will prefer to perform their transactions using USD, which has been the official currency in that country for over 20 years.

In other countries, legal issues still prevent the widespread adoption of crypto. For example, in Vietnam, using crypto instead of fiat in payments is considered illegal and can lead to very severe penalties. The government wants to protect the position and value of fiat in the economy, and they are not ready to experiment with crypto.

Those who live in Turkey and Thailand have the same problem, but p2p transactions are something that goes beyond such prohibitions, because Bitcoin is "designed" in such a way that anyone can transfer a certain value without seeking the consent of a third party. Of course, no one is comfortable doing such transactions if they know they live in a country where it is prohibited by law, but if a law is meaningless, I will always try to find a way to circumvent it.

[Penlex_Writer]

It can but it will take years to make it work considering that most persons are ignorant of the workings of cryptocurrencies. I can remember the difficulties faced in my country when there was shortage of money supply. During this period exchange of good was not easy because some sellers don't even have functional bank account and it posed a challenge for buyers. For cryptocurrencies to be used as a medium of exchange the sensitisation have to start now so that upcoming generations can easily be abreast with the workings of the crypto world.

[Tribalchief]

The one thing I so much cherish about crypto currency is the fact that we are our own bank. Cryptocurrency does not require a third party such as the bank to keep your assets safe but rather you have control over your assets and nobody knows anything about your assets.

Finally, in terms of transactions, there is nothing like middle man commission or bank charges with exorbitant fee charges, nobody is there to ask silly questions on what you used your money for just as the bank do ask before granting loans.

These are all some key points I must mention. There is this satisfactory feeling that people experience when they are the only ones who have access to something without the influence of others. The absence of middlemen can indeed provide comfort, but it also has its own disadvantages, as there won't be anyone to complain to if anything goes wrong during the transaction process.

Answering OP question, Cryptocurrency is already been used and can be used as a medium of exchange but the market that accept it are few. There are individuals in this forum and others including BTT that accept cryptos for their service or goods and not to mention places while few that allows the purchase of merchandise using certain cryptocurrency. Though it's not yet widely accepted like traditional currency, it can still play a role as a medium of exchange.

Of course, I understand that perspective. When we consider it from your angle, you are attempting to reference specific individuals within the ATT and BTT communities. However, what about those who reside outside these two communities? With a world population of approximately 8 billion, the question becomes: What percentage of the world uses cryptocurrency in their daily transactions, and what percentage does not? Mass adoption undoubtedly takes time, but it is not exclusive to certain demographics.

I think people forgetting that daily transactions aren't just the small ones.
There are many big daily or weekly transactions which are already done with cryptocurrency.  Larger transactions,  with more money. Specially for remittances or as a store of value.

I don't think that buying coffee with crypto is that important.

Whether large transactions, small transactions, or medium transactions, the primary aim is to achieve mass adoption, thereby creating global awareness

The use of crypto in daily micropayments has been mentioned for a long time, perhaps since the birth of BTC, but it has not yet become popular for many reasons. Perhaps only the people of El Salvador are experiencing this feature fully thanks to the new policy and technology of Lightning Network.

In other countries, legal issues still prevent the widespread adoption of crypto. For example, in Vietnam, using crypto instead of fiat in payments is considered illegal and can lead to very severe penalties. The government wants to protect the position and value of fiat in the economy, and they are not ready to experiment with crypto.

People's awareness is also a barrier. We live in this market so we feel crypto is important, but others don't care about crypto and don't think it's important. For them, fiat is enough, and if fiat depreciates, they have gold as a reliable reserve asset.

People's awareness is indeed a very vital point, and its absence would certainly be a problem for mass adoption. Please permit the writer of topic 76 to add this as a key point that affects mainstream adoption.

[lepbagong]

It can but it will take years to make it work considering that most persons are ignorant of the workings of cryptocurrencies. I can remember the difficulties faced in my country when there was shortage of money supply. During this period exchange of good was not easy because some sellers don't even have functional bank account and it posed a challenge for buyers. For cryptocurrencies to be used as a medium of exchange the sensitisation have to start now so that upcoming generations can easily be abreast with the workings of the crypto world.

people don't know about crypto, I think it is no longer foreign to society because technological developments have spread and many people already know. The problem is whether the government is ready with regulations to be able to accept it as a legal means of payment, usually only as a trading tool. This is, of course, a separate problem.
But because the movement of crypto is very fast, and it seems very difficult to use it as a medium for daily transactions, no one dares to speculate that when they receive it the price drops, will certainly be detrimental to the recipient.
The best thing is to exchange it for a legal medium of exchange and then use it for transactions.

[Captain Corporate]

Of course its a yes, the question is not "can", its "should". Because at this point, people who are using cards, could very well easily use crypto cards as well. We need more regulations regards to that, but if exchanges can hold tens of billions of dollars, they may as well just give us debit cards too. Like if I have Binance account with a million dollars in it, the logic should not be hard to get a debit card from them and go around spending that money. Hell, they can even partner with visa and mastercard, meaning the seller do not have to accept crypto, I can pay in crypto and they could get it in fiat. Its not something we "can" do at this point, its what we should evolve to already, we are even a bit late to it.

[bitterguy28]

So back to the question: Can Cryptocurrencies Be Used As A Medium Of Exchange In Our Daily Transactions?. The answer is YES.

Yes and definitely YES .

the question is "CAN be used"? of course we can but the problem is that "Will the Government Allows us? or Are the people ready to that?

I will certainly ready since couple of years and actually I have used in some deals in personal but i prevent dealing in online because it is easy to be scammed internet .

I wanted to use crypto even everyday if given a chance.

[1020kingz]

Even fiat money has it's own digital form, no wonder Cryptocurrency will have more demand because of some merchants in the market accepts crypto as payment method. I know soon it will more popular in the future and can even match with the fiat transactions we have right now. The question is will the goverment allow such transactions? 

[Gladitorcomeback]

It's not just mass adoption that is required for cryptocurrencies to become medium of exchanges in the world outside the internet. What do you consider being mass adoption? We already have a large part of the world buying, holding, and using cryptocurrencies, and now we have industrial investors hoping in as well. I think that can also be considered a sort of mass adoption even though it's incomplete.

What I believe can be the biggest barrier is the unpredictability of network fees of certain cryptocurrencies at times. Take Bitcoin as an example. There are times when the network gets congested and transaction fees touch the sky. What do you think would people do in such situations when they are spending Bitcoin on a daily basis if they are not willing to switch to another cryptocurrency?

[vegasus]

Basically, this can be done using certain cryptocurrencies as a means of daily payment. It's available. However, there are several problems:

1. Regarding regulations
There are certain countries that do not allow cryptocurrency to be used as a means of payment, and if you violate it, it will be restricted and you will be punished. So that means we should not use cryptocurrency for transactions.

2. Still limited
In this case, it is related to the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies in society which is not yet that widespread. There are many levels of society who do not understand or have not accepted cryptocurrencies for various reasons. So, it is still difficult to implement crypto for payments. If you want to use it and it is allowed, it is only limited to people who already know and follow cryptocurrencies. So, this adoption must continue to be disseminated.