Use Your STEEM To Buy A Cup Of Coffee

This seems to be the barometer that everyone wants to go by. We keep hearing "will people ever use Bitcoin to buy a cup or coffee" or "Bitcoin is going to fail because people will not pay for their coffee using the currency".

I cannot answer whether Bitcoin will or will not ever be used for that purpose. However, if that is the barometer, then STEEM is in the game.

It is easy to be negative on things in a bear market. At the same time, Steem, because of the lack of attention it gets, has fallen more in proportion to some other tokens. That leads people to believe the market views Steem as worse than other projects.

This is not true. A more likely scenario is the fact that Steem tends not to get a lot of publicity and is not as well known as other projects.

The news the last couple days should help the image of Steem. There is a lot taking place on this blockhcain as evidenced by the amount of applications we have that are already working. Getting listed on the DApp site should help especially with Steemit ranking number 1.

Paytomat is a cryptopayment system that caters to merchants. Anyone who is in the retail world, especially in countries like the United States, realizes that Mastercard and Visa can charge healthy percentages for their services. This can be a big dent for smaller retailers who operate on tight margins. 1%-3% can make a big difference especially if you operate on a sub 10% margin.

This is a project that looks like it was started on the EOS blockchain. The idea is to develop an alternate network to the typical merchant account one that companies are not stuck dealing with. Obviously, this is something in it's infancy but, hopefully, will expand over time.

These are some of the types of projects that are going to assist cryptocurrency moving into the mainstream. Over time, we should see more organizations willing to accept cryptocurrency in an effort to expand their reach while also cutting down on expenses.

The good news is they just announced they are accepting STEEM as part of the payment system. This is just another advancement forward for our ecosystem. While this is not going to move the token into the Top 5 overnight, it does show the benefits that STEEM offers as a currency due to the blockchain it is on.

Here is a video they put out announcing the inclusion.

https://busy.org/@paytomat/grab-your-steem-and-buy-some-coffee

So, yes, technically one could say that STEEM can now be used to buy a cup of coffee.

I want everyone to consider how big this potentially could be and the impact for what people are doing on this blockchain. With STEEM be accepted in that network, we can see the ability for one to come onto the blockchain, interact, and earn some STEEM. This now can be used to buys goods and services albeit in a limited fashion at this point.

Even though we saw some challenges with Steemit, we are led to believe the SMT protocol will still be designed. When that is finally unveiled, we will see all tokens created using that paired with STEEM. That means, with the addition to this network, people can earn their favorite SMT, convert it on the exchange to STEEM, and go spend it. As the @paytomat system gets bigger, the offerings will end up including places that people spend at in the course of their day.

This was an approach that I always felt provided extreme value to the Steem ecosystem. We offer a way for people to earn right now with the options expanding upon the release of SMTs. It is an on ramp to the rest of the world. With people earning on here, they will have the ability to either spend or invest. This will help to improve the financial situation of millions or people around the world.

Another point I wanted to mention is the fact that this project is seeking the input and collaboration of others. They appear to be understanding of the industry and what we are confronted with. By partnering up with other teams, they increase their chances of making an impact. It is naive to believe that anyone is going to take on the present system alone. Instead, it is going to take a dedicated effort on the part of many people working together.

This is another feather in Steem's cap. Ultimately, this could be a breakthrough moment or just another failed experiment. Either way, each week we are seeing different projects appear that push the Steem case forward. Organic growth can take some time and, being a new industry, we need to wait for the foundations to be laid.

While waiting, if you are in one of the areas that @paytomat services, you pay for a cup of coffee with your STEEM.

More information can be found at https://paytomat.com/.

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