Dash Embassy D-A-CH recently attended the 5th GENOhackathon to discuss cryptocurrency adoption and how it can impact German-speaking Europe.
Participants at the GENOhackathon developed solutions to the future of banking and heard presentations on potential solutions and progress towards these ends. Jan Heinrich Meyer, also known as essra in the Dash community, gave a speech entitled “GENO Crypto Applications”, which discussed the potential of cryptocurrencies to revolutionize the banking industry. He highlighted how 8% of Germans currently own cryptocurrencies and 21% plan to own cryptocurrencies in the future and said the potential market is 16 million individuals, citing ING.
Despite the relatively significant interest, Jan Heinrich Meyer says the reason that cryptocurrencies have not been widely adopted is because of a lack of usability, support, and trust. Dash Embassy D-A-CH then created a live demo with BB Bank, which included buying and selling Dash, to demonstrate how these features can be overhauled by leveraging existing bank infrastructure to increase adoption. He then further pitched the idea to banks by highlighting how adopting cryptocurrencies can be profitable for them by charging ATM fees, but still less than the 6% charged in Austria.
Increasing cryptocurrency adoption through mainstream channels
Cryptocurrencies are a revolutionary new technology that has the opportunity to upend the existing financial and banking infrastructure. While some have bought into this idea, it is still a niche group of individuals that either believe in the philosophy or require it from hyperinflation, such as Venezuelans. However, integrating into current infrastructure such as bank ATMs and POS systems allows for many non-early adopters to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency space and increase the likelihood of adoption. This becomes beneficial for both cryptocurrencies by seeing more adoption and for banks by getting early exposure to the space and making money in the interim.
Cryptocurrencies saw an increase in mainstream media attention during its huge price appreciation in late 2017 and early 2018, but that attention has since decreased. However, larger banks and institutions are exploring the technology and are either adopting different cryptocurrencies or developing their own form of blockchains. Even the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, recently said that central banks “should consider the possibility to issue digital currency”. The increasing adoption of cryptocurrencies, even among governments, provides more competition and choices for consumers to select the currency that would best work for their needs.
Dash contributes to consumer choice by enabling adoption
A major factor inhibiting consumer choice of money is merchant adoption since a top priority for consumers is spending their money in exchange for goods and services. Dash has recognized this and is thus pursuing adoption as one of its main goals and already has achieved over 4,000 merchants, worldwide. Dash has been able to achieve this with its DAO that enables the network to fund community outreach groups, such as Dash Embassy D-A-CH, to drive adoption and education in their local communities.
This model is proving itself in Venezuela where there are over 2,200 merchants that directly accept Dash thanks to the community outreach groups there. Venezuelans were desperately looking for a currency solution since their bolivar is experiencing massive hyperinflation and their government imposes capital controls on other fiat currencies. Even in neighboring Colombia, which is not suffering from hyperinflation, numerous individuals and over 100 merchants are also taking Dash thanks to the hard work of Dash Colombia. Dash is providing the economic choices that consumers desire to increase their well-being and the Dash community helps make this possible by adapting to the local needs of consumers and merchants around the world.
