The First Mile Problem: Opening the Loop
The financially empowering nature of cryptocurrencies and their underlying blockchain technology is re-defining the relationship between people and money. Direct, digital control over personal funds combined with radically improved access to global financial services will open up the path to financial opportunity and freedom for unbanked, underbanked, and overbanked people worldwide.
But we are still at the early stages of our journey to a financially empowered world. Among the first steps to global adoption is on-boarding people to buy and sell cryptocurrency. As of today, speculation has been the largest driver of adoption.
Buying and selling cryptocurrency using fiat money is typically via a transaction with a fiat-to-crypto exchange, peer-to-peer, a crypto ATM, or by mining. The current best option for onboarding new users balancing safety, cost, ease of use, and availability is via an exchange offering fiat to cryptocurrency. The process goes as follows: 1) register an account, 2) verify your identity, 3) fund your account, 4) begin buying and selling. Step 3 is where the industry is experiencing major setbacks that is slowing global adoption to a halt.
We call it the the First Mile Problem.
To fund your account, fiat exchanges allow for traditional payment methods such as a debit or credit card, or through a direct transfer from your bank account. Seldom do exchanges provide physical cash as an option and here lies the crux of the first mile problem. The majority of the world lives in a cash economy, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The transition to a technologically and financially empowered world needs a bridge to connect fiat cash of the old world to digital cash and cryptocurrency of the new world.
Regulators and governments globally are attempting to strike the right balance between fostering innovation and protecting consumers when creating guidelines for this technology. The results vary across jurisdictions but we are witnessing banks increasingly closing their doors as a payment method for users to fund their account, while also halting payment processing and banking services for exchanges. Many credit cards are unable to be used for transactions related to cryptocurrency or are charged as a high-interest cash advance. The need for fiat funding options will only increase as more interested people embrace the future of finance.
U.CASH solves the first mile problem by providing fiat deposit options for the global users of both centralized and decentralized exchanges. The U.CASH converter network is a distributed network of retail stores and individuals that accept fiat currency in-person or online to load users’ U.CASH account. After loading, a user can top-up and purchase cryptocurrency via exchanges on the U.CASH network. Imagine you live in Toronto and want to buy cryptocurrency on a European exchange using Canadian dollars at local retail store in Toronto. Now you can, see how it works here.
U.CASH becomes the global, fiat-agnostic on-ramp for all cryptocurrency exchanges, enabled by a converters that are morally and financially incentivized to load up a user’s U.CASH account. U.CASH’s mission is to grow the distributed network to have a converter at every physical and digital street corner in every country.
The power of the network lies in that anyone can become a converter and become part of the solution to the problem. Depending on the regulations in your jurisdiction, becoming a converter can be as simple as verifying your identity, loading up your account, and posting an advertisement. In the same way anyone, using AirBnB as an example, can take their home and earn funds by renting it out to someone looking for a short term rental, U.CASH converters earn funds for helping users load up their U.CASH account.
We need your help in making global adoption a reality. If you have not already, sign up for a U.CASH account here (and earn a UCASH bounty!). For retailers and individuals interested in earning funds and helping load users up by becoming a converter, email us at converters@u.cash. For exchanges interested in providing fiat deposit options for their users while simultaneously accessing a global user base, email us at partnerships@u.cash.
Together, let’s empower the world by empowering your world,
Brian
