Can you spare some change? Sorry, all I have is a card...

Have you ever been approached on the street by someone in need, and not been able to help because you just don't carry cash? It’s possible to send funds via Paypal or Venmo but those transfers can often take a while and aren’t an elegant solution to the problem. Enter cryptocurrency.

Imagine being able to drive by a homeless person and just scan their phone with yours to instantly transfer funds to their wallet. That transaction should be just as simple and untraceable as using cash.

There could even be a form of smart contract that ensures the person can use the coin specifically for food or shelter. All of this without needing a bank account just a phone that can run the app.

It won’t take long for businesses to begin accepting crypto payments in exchange for gas, groceries, and services. Sometime in the not so distant future, people will go to work and be paid in intangible currency like a faster version of direct deposit.

It’s true that there are limitations to this idea, for example, not everyone can afford a smartphone. However, once people transition to using crypto in their everyday lives, it will enable this type of gift transfer to happen very easily.

I'm no developer but I think that it will be awesome to see how cryptocurrency improves people’s lives. Join me in this thought experiment, leave a comment below. How do you think cryptocurrency could be used to help people in need?