How Cryptocurrency is Changing the Way We Pay

Approximately thirteen years ago on May 22, 2010, a hungry Florida-based programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz decided to pay for two pizzas using bitcoin. It was the first recorded case of anyone using bitcoin to buy physical goods in the real world.

While the transaction happened simply enough (Hanyecz posted his offer of 10,000 BTC for the pizzas on an early bitcoin forum), it changed the way people viewed bitcoin and cryptocurrency as a whole. For the first time, there was real proof it could be a legitimate means of transaction.

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency have come a long way since then. Today it is estimated that there are 402 million crypto users worldwide. Large brands such as Amazon, Starbucks, Burger King, and more have all accepted crypto as payment at one point or another. You would also be hard-pressed to find anyone today who doesn’t have some sort of view on crypto in general.

Riding this wave of increasing crypto popularity are a new wave of crypto-focused startups. Many of these startups concentrate on creating solutions to facilitate crypto transactions and make spending/trading crypto as easy as a few clicks.

Take Pundi X, for example, which develops apps and solutions to help people store, buy, and spend their coins. Among our most notable solutions is the XPOS, a point-of-sale machine that allows brick-and-mortar retailers to accept crypto payments and transact on the blockchain with just a card swipe.

The importance of real, everyday transactions

It would be hard to overstate the importance of solutions like XPOS machines. Integrating cryptocurrency for use in everyday transactions is crucial for moving coins such as Bitcoin from speculative investments to practical solutions on par with traditional fiat currencies.

While physical cash and traditional banking systems have long been the norm, the rise of cryptocurrencies also introduces a new paradigm — one that empowers individuals to have full control over their finances and transcends geographical borders. Imagine living in the UK and being able to instantaneously make a direct payment to a business partner in Vietnam. This is now possible with cryptocurrency.

To fully grasp the wider impact of cryptocurrency, we can look to the recent example of El Salvador, which became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender in September 2021. This groundbreaking move aims to provide financial access to the unbanked population and reduce dependency on traditional banking infrastructure. Thus, not only is cryptocurrency crucial for convenient transactions, but using it for real, everyday transactions is also a vehicle for financial inclusion.

Crypto solutions are also evolving alongside crypto use. XPOS platform, for example, has now integrated the Bitcoin Lightning Network. The Lightning Network is a layer 2 decentralized network that enables rapid transactions between parties outside the Bitcoin blockchain. It achieves this by eliminating the requirement for transaction approval from the main blockchain, resulting in lightning-fast transactions and greater convenience for users.

Overall, paying for goods with crypto has several advantages. First, it simplifies speedy and efficient cross-border transactions and eliminates the need for a central authority and unnecessary transaction fees. Crypto’s decentralized nature then helps speed up financial inclusion, especially among the world’s unbanked population. The secure and transparent nature of blockchain technology also ensures that transactions are traceable and tamper-proof, providing peace of mind for both consumers and businesses.

More than just a light-hearted celebration, Bitcoin Pizza Day is a reminder of how cryptocurrency can improve the way we pay for goods. As we reflect on how far cryptocurrencies have come since then, let us continue the crypto revolution that programmers like Laszlo Hanyecz envisioned all those years ago.