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Education

this intermediary and trust that the entity will transmit it
to its intended destination quickly and securely. Bitcoin is
a technology that eliminates this requirement.
Innovation before adoption

Before the debut of America Online (now AOL Inc.), the
Internet was widely considered a complex technology,
limiting its accessibility to the dedicated few who found
it intriguing. Internet access and email have since become
so common that access to it is considered a fundamental
human right in many countries. By bypassing the trusted
third party, email has done to disrupt traditional mail
what Bitcoin may do to disrupt traditional payments.
Accessibility

Consider the technology that brought currency transmittal
to the masses: PayPal Inc. PayPal has netted billions of
dollars for bridging the payment gap by allowing the
average person to send money easily. The business
model innovated upon existing technology by connecting
payment cards to user accounts and acting as a third-party
Bitcoin: Keeping alternative to the banks. The explosive growth of PayPal
was facilitated in part by millions of investment dollars to
the change improve accessibility and usability. The product made the
existing system more accessible.

By Tom Waters Bitcoin, on the other hand, creates a unique system built
Bank Associates Merchant Services from the ground up. It is a protocol, not a company.
As such, bitcoin's success or failure will not come from
peculation has been running since technological standing on the shoulders of giants. The concept is not
disruptor bitcoin surpassed the $1,000 valua- far from what mainstream consumers are accustomed to:
tion benchmark. New buzzwords and phrases purchase credits on an account with dollars and monitor
S like peer-to-peer computing and cryptographic your balance on a website or through software. Then spend
currency have many readers scratching their heads. You those credits to make purchases. Without a concentrated
would likely need a computer science degree to fully effort from known brands, however, adoption is still
grasp how the system works. Perhaps, after finishing this limited to those dedicated few, find it intriguing.
article, you will have a better understanding of why it
could work. It is also difficult for the masses to acquire bitcoin at
this stage. The difficulty lies with the act of exchanging
Sending cash dollars into an account that is run by a credible and secure
company. It often takes several days, or high fees, to convert
People often need to send money from point A to point your native currency into bitcoin. This limitation, however,
B. Whether the currency is intended for a student away further exacerbates the inconvenience of requiring a third
at college, a family member in another country or any party to transfer currency. Once converted to bitcoin,
other reason to initiate a transfer, billions of dollars are however, credits are available for you to move where you
transmitted daily. Consider all of the options available wish, to whomever you wish, in just a few seconds.
to send $100 to someone 100 miles away. You probably
thought of the following: initiate a bank transfer or send Adoption through innovation
cash in the mail. Both of these methods require time and
money – and the faster the transfer, the higher the fees. Acceptance of innovation in payment technology is
typically driven by two types of influencers: merchants
How can you get money from point A to point B but not and cardholders. Merchants purchase equipment to initiate
use the post office or a bank or a payment company? transactions from cardholder accounts. They are leery of
It's a tough puzzle to consider. Currently, all available expenses and can be reluctant to invest in anything new
mainstream options of sending money are different sides unless it drives business, creates efficiency or increases
of the same coin. We are accustomed to the payment revenue.
process, so it's difficult to remember that we rely on a
fundamental requirement: the need for a trusted third For example, merchant adoption of accepting credit
party to deliver money on our behalf. We give money to cards saw relatively limited growth until rewards cards
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