What’s Inhibiting Retail Adoption of Cryptocurrencies?

The daily cryptocurrency hobbyist may assume that blockchain technology is taking over the world. However, the reality is much bleaker. Cryptocurrency adoption in retail environments in insignificant at best. We still see a lack of true adoption and understanding of blockchain technologies almost 10 years after Bitcoin was first introduced to the world.

Let’s break down two of these roadblocks that must be tackled before we see mass adoption and acceptance of cryptocurrencies.

Price Volatility

Price volatility is an enormous deterrent when we look at small retailers and Ecommerce platforms attempting to accept cryptocurrency as a means of payment for their products and services. It’s not appealing for business to hear that widget x could cost a customer $5 one day and $10 the next. The psychological inhibitor which plays a role when transacting with cryptocurrency is that we always tie the dollar value of the cryptocurrency back to a fiat currency.

This is most likely due to the fact that many new retail adopters don’t understand (how to) or have easy access to a means of utilizing cryptocurrency for our daily living expenses such as groceries or gas, however one can hope that that will change sooner than later!

The price volatility dictates that companies must be comfortable with some amount of risk if they choose to hold onto the coins. Liquidity and the ability to pay suppliers and cover business costs is also an inhibitor as some cryptocurrencies make simple tasks, such as paying employees, seemingly impossible for a cryptocurrency novice.

Although these may seem like huge obstacles which will inhibit adoption, the answer lies in our next bucket.

Education

Lack of education is the largest factor propagating many of the items previously mentioned. As stated previously, although we think cryptocurrency is intertwined in the lives of your average everyday John Doe, we are horribly misguided and incorrect. Education concerning the technology and industry is lacking in a big way. We see classes geared towards programmers and developers from major educational institutions however we fail to see any meaningful educational programs for the layman. A cryptocurrency Ecommerce service provider also has to be an educator in the space, providing prospective clients with meaningful information and anecdotal evidence as to how businesses can attempt to usurp major aforementioned inhibitors towards mainstream adoption.

Businesses can be educated on the benefits and risks of holding and selling cryptocurrency. They should be schooled on how to use exchange vehicles to sell and consolidate cryptocurrencies into the currency of their choice. We have to help businesses understand the tax implications of holding and transacting cryptocurrencies.

When a provider can accomplish all this, all while offering a business a proper, easily integrated payment processing tool…. that’s when they’ll win market share.

The reason why this is so important? The moment we spur mainstream business adoption, the rest of the world will follow.