How do we light the spark to ignite the flame that is blockchain mass adoption? How do we enter a world where coffee is denominated in Bitcoin and not the local fiat currency? Will digital representations of everything exist on an immutable, decentralized ledger — breaking down barriers, increasing inclusiveness, and launching not only a financial, but a social revolution?
Wafty goals? Yes… Achievable? Possibly…
DigitalBits is a multi-purpose, enterprise-grade blockchain, originally forked from the Stellar protocol. Central to the DigitalBits mission is driving blockchain mass adoption. The technology at our fingertips is revolutionary, but like any tool it cannot fulfill its potential unless it is utilized effectively.
It has been found that human beings are resistant to change. In Charles Duhigg’s “The Power of Habit,” the author discusses the innovative method used to make OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” a hit. It seems peculiar that a song boasting over 400 million views on Youtube once had to struggle for an audience. But when “Hey Ya!” was released, listeners deemed it too radically different from what they were used to, and changed the channel.
In this article, we will explore some of the avenues DigitalBits has assumed in order to make blockchain a user-centric experience, complimenting as opposed to conflicting with learned behaviour and patterns.
In-App Integration:
Acknowledging this natural resistance to change, DigitalBits has been developed integration ready: DigitalBits integrates directly with existing applications, optimizing the backend infrastructure to benefit from blockchain technology while maintaining or minimizing the change to the consumer’s learned behaviour. You don’t need to understand the inner workings of a cell phone to make a call — similarly, you shouldn’t have to be a developer in order to interact with a blockchain.
Caddle, an early participant in DigitalBits partnership ecosystem, is a customer engagement platform with over 10 million users, offering consumers cash-back rebates. Caddle will integrate DigitalBits with its existing rewards program to offer greater value to its customers.
Blockchain Browsing + One-Click Pay
Large technology companies the likes of Facebook, Google, and Amazon have amassed billions of dollars collecting and selling consumer information. Blockchain-based browsers such as Metalyfe look to place ownership and control back into the hands of those that generate information, the user.
Learn more about Metalyfe here >>
DigitalBits will serve as one of the primary use-cases in the Metalyfe marketplace — assets within the DigitalBits ecosystem will be usable within Metalyfe’s multi-currency wallet. These assets will be spendable towards online purchases in a one-click pay system. The tokenization of loyalty points, and in the future, a number of other asset classes, will provide consumers with increased autonomy over their assets. Users should be able to spend their assets without having to understand complexities such as sending funds to a public address and waiting for confirmation. Additionally, consumers will be able to leverage assets that they are familiar with, such as loyalty points, in an easy to use one-click pay system.
Learn more about the DigitalBits and Metalyfe partnership here >>
Card-Based Payment Solutions
In an increasingly cashless society, card-based payment solutions have taken the forefront as the payment method of choice. Advancements such as “tap-and-go” have significantly boosted their usage. Companies such as Coinbase, Crypto.com (formerly Monaco), Cardano and TenX have all explored their own iterations of card-based solutions, suggesting a growing interest.
Cards present significant advantages over other methods of payment, specifically cash:
- They provide users with access to funds (debit, credit, gift rewards etc.), but are themselves not a store of value (cash). Users benefit from having a low cost and portable item that allows them access to potentially vast sums of money (risk vs. reward). Phones can run out of battery, cards cannot. If the card is lost or stolen — funds can be recovered as they are not stored within the card. The card itself is not money, simply a gateway to funds.
- The prevalence of cards has been cemented in human learned behaviour — card payments feel natural, and are easy to conduct. Card payments have become significantly more user-centric with the introduction of tap-and-go technology and reduced processing times.
- Cash only makes up 8% of global currency — the other 92% of money is merely digital information stored on computers and hard drives. In a world where we message the movement of value and ledgers are updated, is there a need for cash?
The DigitalBits team has been exploring the prospect of a card-based solution. Wouldn’t it be great to aggregate the value of all your loyalty points onto one card, where the only thing that mattered was the total monetary value, that could then be used towards a number of different purchases? We have some exciting news to come on this matter, so stay tuned!
Finding the Sweet Spot
We live in an ever-advancing world — the technological curve has gone absolutely parabolic. But the interesting thing is, advancement doesn’t make things more complicated, it actually makes them easier. Technology has become more focused around the user than ever before — where machines are designed to be ready out-of-box, with as minimal a learning curve as possible. Technology compliments us, the user, not the other way around. This is something that the blockchain world is slowly warming up to.
No matter how advanced we become, human beings will always have convenience and ease-of-use high on their priority list. As we work towards tokenizing ever conceivable asset class, utilizing cryptocurrencies as the defacto form of payment, managing supply chains using blockchain technology… all of these wonderful blockchain applications, we must remember and appreciate who this technology is made for, and in doing so, construct technology in such a way that it can be utilized to its full potential.
