Cryptocurrencies are one of the most exciting developments of recent times for those who want to move away from investing in all the usual commodities and companies. However, the capacity to cash in on these assets is minimal.
For all that Elon Musk has occasionally made headlines by declaring that Bitcoin could be used to buy Teslas (leading to accusations that he was manipulating the market for his own ends) and a few leading hotel chains will accept it as payment, these are the exceptions, with many companies wary that the value of crypto is too unstable to make it reliable.
Some might be forgiven for asking just what is the ultimate benefit or value in cryptocurrency investment when the range of ways you can actually convert it into tangible wealth that you can spend on the things you want is so limited.
The Few Things You Can Buy Direct With Crypto
Indeed, any list of things you can buy directly with crypto is short and tends to focus on the top end of markets: apart from expensive cars, you can get fancy watches, luxury jewellery and handbags, or invest in whisky and other spirits. Beyond this, there are a limited number of e-commerce firms where crypto can be accepted in remote purchases.
However, when you put them all together, this amounts to only a tiny fraction of firms where you can spend your cryptocurrency. This is not much use when you want to stay in a mid-market hotel, buy a standard watch, or simply do your everyday grocery shopping.
At the same time, you may also ask a very pertinent question: what happens if you are travelling overseas? We all know what fiat currencies we may need to change our pounds and pence into, be it the Euro, US Dollar, Yen, Rupee and so on. But can you do the same with crypto? What will people make of it around the world?
Solving Multiple Problems At Once
The good news is that the XRP Card and mobile app are designed to tackle both problems, with the added bonus that it can do things even fiat money cards cannot do.
Firstly, they can convert your cryptocurrency into the local fiat currency in a matter of seconds, so when making a payment, be it at an airport, a hotel, or simply in a shop, you can make a payment in the local currency.
If that was the only benefit, it would still be something extremely useful, helping to bridge the previously almost unassailable gap between the world of fiat currencies and that of crypto. But there is so much more to it than that.
The fact that this can be done in lots of different countries means you are immediately at an advantage. Those using fiat currencies either have to change their money into the currency of the other jurisdiction or pay on a card with hefty fees to convert the currencies. That is not good for anyone, apart from the companies getting rich on the proceeds of the charges.
Of course, there are exceptions to this; the Eurozone is one and the ability to move between member states of the EU and spend the same money without the inconvenience of having to change it or incur conversion fees was one of the reasons it was introduced. But, of course, not even all EU countries use it, so its use is limited.
With the XRP Card or app, you can take the basic principle of the Euro and expand it greatly, using it in far more than the 20 countries that use the Euro (plus, to be pedantic, a few non-EU microstates that use the Euro like Andorra and San Marino). This means you can make life very easy for yourself.
Moving Seamless In And Out Of The Eurozone
This becomes increasingly true the more you travel. Someone travelling across different countries in Europe may, for example, find they can use the Euro in some but then cross the border into a country that doesn’t, such as if you cross from Germany into Denmark. But using the XRP Card, you can make crypto payments in both.
Put together, these three factors – the ability to turn crypto into fiat currency payments, the absence of a welter of charges that will burn a hole in your pocket, and the immense convenience of being able to cross numerous borders and pay using the same card and in the same way in each of them – means a big problem has been replaced by a great solution.
All you need do now is start booking your hotel and travel, be it by plane, ferry, or Eurostar – using a card that helps you turn crypto into fiat payment for that as well, of course.