Crypto-currencies for the masses!!! Bitcoin isn’t just for drugs and guns.

How a simple C2C/B2C business model using ethereum and an iPhone could bring crypto-currencies to the masses.

Lately I started to become more and more interested in ethereum and its applicability to consumer facing products. The main problem that I see with crypto-currencies such as ethereum or bitcoin is that there are 0 products for consumers to use on a daily basis. Sure, it is amazing to own a bunch of bitcoins and be one of the cool kids, but realistically what are you going to use them for. The best you can do is to create a sticker and put it on your twitter/facebook profile to show the world how modern and edgy you are.

I think that it is a fundamental problem for the technology, because very few B2B technologies cause the kind of seismic shift that most of the people in the crypto-currency space would like to see. Furthermore, B2B applications tend to not focus on interoperability but rather on early customisation for specific use cases and hence have a really hard time to develop their full potential. And most of all, without a successful C2C/B2C product 99% of the population will never hear about the massive benefits that crypto-currencies can bring to the world.

I currently live in Denmark and here we have an amazing app which allows anyone with a Danish account and a Danish mobile number to sign up in under a minute and consequently transfer money to anyone using just their mobile number. The convenience is unbeatable, since it allows you to send money to people in under 10 seconds. Also, I honestly don’t think that any alternative based on crypto-currencies will ever outcompete this product.

However, then a couple of weeks ago I went to Germany and once again realised that the banking system is still in stuck in the stone-ages. Not only do most banks have shitty mobile apps, but also transfers take days and always involve TANs, which for sums around 10 euros seems to be massive overkill. Also, transfers tend to cost money depending on your bank. :-(

Since, I am running an ethereum mine anyway and nowadays are constantly working with the technology I decided to look into whether one can create a virtual wallet that just behaves like cash; and lo-and-behold one can.

The goal is simple: Create a virtual wallet with virtual money that is equivalent to traditional cash.

Why current solutions aren’t good enough!

PayPal: it ain’t cash if another company can owns your money

Banks: it ain’t cash if a bank can track your spending or freeze your account

Existing crypto wallets: it ain’t cash if I have to key in a HEX address ( 0x0084D340da08481d70f43520E18eCf7bc79af040 = if you want to send me some ether, feel free)

Coinbase: it ain’t cash if I have to spend a week on verifying my account just to own a wallet; also, I don’t control my own money

The prototype solution!

Over the past couple of days I have implemented an iPhone app that stores the cryptographic keys that represent your virtual wallet. It signs the transactions on the device and only sends a signed transaction to a full ethereum node, which means that no one but you owns your own virtual cash. I might need another week to get it to a beta stage, but the basic technology is there and available.

Virtual cash just like real cash!

• you own your own cash
• you can spend and receive it in seconds
• no one can freeze your cash
• if you lose your phone, you lose your virtual cash (just like in real life :-) )
• most people can’t track your spending habits; and in a couple of weeks even most companies can’t track track your spending (thank you state channels)

If you find this exciting, do reach out.

If you have already seen a gazillion companies do this, do reach out.

If you think that crypto-currencies are only to buy drugs and guns on the internet, do reach out.

I think you are starting to get my point. :-) So long.