Bitcoin ready for Mainstream? Not a chance!

The Rollercoaster.

We are on a rollercoaster ride of emotions when it comes to cryptocurrencies and crypto investments. Panic, recover, buy the dip, repeat! I hear people blaming the instability of the market and lack of mainstream adoption on the actions of the whales, the financial industry, regulatory authorities, China, Roger Ver ;) etc etc. All these reasons contribute to a certain extent but I think we have to look a little more in house for one of the bigger problems facing the crypto space.

Mainstream.

When we talk about ‘mainstream’, who are we referring to? A crude roundup would be the uninitiated, the tech ‘un-savvy’, the doubters and naysayers, anyone that’s doing well out of the current fiat currency system, people that have it and want it easy. For these examples alone there are huge mountains to climb when it comes to understanding, entry, usage, storage and security in the crypto space.

Dont touch it!

Let’s start with some of my personal experiences. I have a few friends and family members that are in the financial industry and without hesitation when asked about Bitcoin say ‘don’t touch it!’ Without fail!! Also, most of them when probed on their knowledge and understanding of crypto, quite frankly, haven’t got a clue what they are talking about. The annoying thing is that they are telling everyone that listens ‘don’t touch it!’ AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! :(

What the hell is a Consensus Algorithm?

The next barrier to mainstream adoption is the the initial understanding of crypto currency and blockchain technology. Admittedly, this is a little more understandable. I consider myself to be a reasonably tech savvy person but it’s taken me a while to really understand things to a level where I can make an informed decision, and, I was motivated to learn! I think the wave of people that we would consider mainstream will want things made extremely easy and simple to understand. So there is work to be done in that regard.

You need my passport?

The entry point is the next hurdle. Who remembers the situation where you realise you can’t just buy any crypto, anywhere, with fiat cash? What!! Entry points are extremely limited and the hoops that you have to jump through to access crypto are, inconvenient at best, a downright pain in the ass or even impossible at worst. I’m not even going to get into the, ‘how to buy an alt-coin’ revelation!

Brain Surgery.

The biggest challenge for the space but possibly the easiest to fix is usage, storage and security. My father point blank refuses to move our crypto without me because he says it’s tantamount to brain surgery and one minuscule slip leads to total and utter disaster. Ok, he’s exaggerating a little but there is truth in it too. Using a magnifying glass to check and double check your Bitcoin address before you hit ‘lose it all’, whoops, I mean send! The whole process of moving, storing and security is so finicky, micro managed and un-user friendly, compared to fiat currency and the banking system, that most people are going to be scared stiff to join in, even if they have decided they want to.

What Now?

To sum this up. We are quick as a community to look outside and blame others for the instability and poor press and in a lot of cases there are valid points but I think we need to look inside first before we can really progress. The great news is that we have some fine people in this space that are working their butts off to get this right. So, keep the faith, spread a positive message , HODL and keep blogging on Steemit!

Thanks for reading.

Gaz