Despite the benefits blockchain is projected to bring to humankind, before Cryptocurrencies become widely adopted and implemented in everyday services, the potential will be constrained. This mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies is a very important subject that is yet to find full resolve. As of January 2018, the number of cryptocurrencies in existence was 1,384, and the number keeps growing steadily with new blockchain projects emerging on a daily basis. However, adoption and real application of all these tokens remains beyond the immediate communities of the tech-savvy is limited, to say the least.
Low crypto adoption
Regular people find it difficult to apply cryptocurrency as a tool for transaction and exchange of value. Most of these difficulties result from the absence of conducive media of interaction between cryptocurrencies and the value that they should be attached to. In order words, the user interfaces that would enhance crypto adoption among users in the real world are missing.
There is no doubt that the various inconsistencies in the crypto marketplace, especially when it comes to price action, have an effect in the reception that it gets from the public. However, a closer look at the situation reveals that this is not an insurmountable problem. New systems are emerging and partnerships being developed that can excuse crypto users from the complexities of the back-end technology while delivering value. This is the point where people can use cryptocurrencies to achieve consistent value without needing to understand the complex operations in the background. For instance, people use TCP/IP and HTTP everyday without the slightest idea of how these protocols work. Therefore, there needs to be a gap-bridging process that will enable users employ the crypto technology without bothering users with both technical protocols and value fluctuations.
Crypto checkout points
The recent partnership between CoinGate and PrestaShop is a good example of a seamless interface for cryptocurrency implementation. Cooperation of the two companies will provide over 80,000 European merchants on the PrestaShop platform an easy way of accepting cryptocurrency payments from customers in 50+ different tokens, with a setup of a few clicks. Most importantly, merchants are not required to have a deep understanding of the technology, and can settle their received payments to Fiat without dealing with exchanges or getting involved in complicated procedures.
“We see our partnership with PrestaShop as an opportunity to access a huge number of merchants in all kinds of industries. So far, cryptocurrency payment adoption on the merchant side has been constrained by lack of technical know-how and misconceptions about the risks involved in using this innovative payment method. For global adoption, simplicity for merchants to handle payments is a must, and we are solving this by settling payments to Euro in real-time, protecting merchants from rollercoaster price swings and the actual need to deal with cryptocurrencies directly, which can be a fuss at first. At the same time, for end-customers, we are preserving flexibility by offering a way to pay with over 50 different tokens,”
said Dmitrijus Borisenka, CEO of CoinGate.
An effective user interface
User interface is critical for the success of any new product or technology, especially those designed for the general public. Without easy and familiar ways of implementing new projects on a large scale, they wither away without any chance of achieving the purposes that they were built for. Therefore, in other to become useful and applicable to the everyday human, cryptocurrencies must find expression through platforms that are simple and uncomplicated.
Beyond simplicity, an effective user interface must be consistent with existing processes with which the public is familiar. This increases the chance that the technology will be received more easily. Also, the value that is conveyed must serve to improve the quality of service or product that is being introduced to users.
The benefits offered by cryptocurrencies are undeniable, and so is the flexibility that it brings to the world of value transfer. However, the level of adoption that it will achieve depends on the quality of its interaction with existing systems. Inevitably, partnerships between established service providers with large user bases and companies dealing with the new technology, such as the one between PrestaShop and CoinGate, will be needed to bridge the gap that exists in accessibility, usability and user interface.
