Why People Should Be More Open-Minded To Cryptocurrency

In just a few years, our world has dramatically evolved and been changed forever. But as the speed of hyper-change gathers pace, we seldom stop to observe just how far we have come. If we take a holistic view, almost every aspect of both our business and lifestyle has been transformed by technology — but the entire finance industry stands out as being ripe for disruption.

In a digital age, the concept of rummaging around in your pockets to hand over silver coins in exchange for goods from a merchant is increasingly feeling quite primitive. We are all part of something much bigger now and are breaking out of geographical barriers to do business with the global community. But why is it still so time-consuming, expensive and cumbersome to make international payments?

There remains an inconvenient truth that the current system is now working. For example, there are currently 5 billion people cut off from traditional banking. As such, there is a massive opportunity to give all global citizens a chance to access remote payments, currency exchange and money transfers through digital currencies.

The road ahead is not just about lowering transaction costs, increasing the speed of transactions or enabling international payments at any time. Giving every global citizen the same level of access is an unprecedented sign of progress. However, this is not banking in the traditional sense, as decentralized databases remove any single point of failures and also much of the power from the establishment.

These are just a few reasons why you are more likely to see substantial negative news coverage about a 20 percent drop in Bitcoin prices in a week in the mainstream media than the 1000 percent increase over the year. The rulebook has been thrown out of the window, and the old way of doing things is becoming irrelevant. There are no experts, and this makes some people very nervous.

However, change is the only constant in life, and it's why we should be more open-minded to new digital currencies. Wherever there is a friction point, disruption will surely follow. Ultimately, it is consumer demand that is driving this wave of technological change. A distrust of the current financial system is another reason why blockchain payments are bringing much-needed transparency and accountability into the industry while also removing inefficiencies from the process too.

In a mobile-first world, it has become quite apparent that the current system is broken and no longer fit for purpose. We can talk to anyone in the world and even send them the entire works of William Shakespeare from our smartphone in minutes. But transferring $5,000 in cash overseas is an expensive and time-consuming process.

Looking back at our rich history, it wasn't too long ago that people were skeptical about paper money displacing gold. Digital currencies are merely the next step in our progress as a society. But we all need to allow ourselves to be both open-minded and think bigger to see the potential of what's possible.

Cryptocurrency is so much more than just Bitcoin. The market is still in its infancy, and we are beginning to see how a combination of blockchain, the technology behind it and cryptocurrencies could transform multiple industries when mainstream adoption arrives. After all, saving time, cutting costs and reducing risk is a universal language that every CEO understands.

History has taught us that those who bury their heads in the sand can quickly get left behind. History has also taught us that no brand is too big to fail. Failure to keep up with market trends or how technology is reshaping our world has left a trail of hard luck stories from leaders who refused to listen or were guilty of being closed-minded.

If you take a step back and look at how much your relationship has changed with physical cash in the last five years and how it will continue to evolve, it's easy to see why we must all keep an open mind to the prospect of new currencies.

Tariq Alwahedi is a global entrepreneur, industrialist and business strategist with a focus on cryptocurrency and creating practical applications in the FinTech arena. He is the CEO and founder of CryptoBnB.