Bitcoin is often seen as a threat to the current financial ecosystem. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts wouldn’t mind if the fiat currency system disappears altogether, and gets replaced by something that is much better. Santander, one of the world’s biggest banks, has mentioned how Bitcoin will become a serious contender if it can gain widespread adoption.
Banks Are Legitimately Scared of Bitcoin
Financial institutions and governments all over the world have been opposing cryptocurrency from day one. Most people assumed it was because this whole ecosystem of magic internet money was a pure scam, and would go away sooner rather than later. Nothing is further from the truth, though, as cryptocurrency is not a scam,and it will not be going away either.
Despite a slow adoption rate, Bitcoin has gotten on everybody’s radar. Granted, there is a lot of negative media attention on bitcoin, partially due to not understanding the system or not doing any research. While cryptocurrency is no blank slate by any means, a lot of the negative associations are taken well out of context.
Which brings us to today, an exciting day for Bitcoin users. As it turns out, Banco Santander is quite keen on seeing Bitcoin succeed. At the same time, they are also afraid if this would happen, as it has the power to make banks redundant. That is quite a statement for something that is still “fake internet money” according to a lot of people.
Particularly credit card issues will come under fire unless they step up their game. Over the past few years, companies as Visa and MasterCard have become dominant forces in the card payment industry. However, their transaction fees are rather expensive, whereas Bitcoin transactions are free for the recipient. The difference between a 1.8% charge and 0% is quite big.
The only thing holding back Bitcoin is the adoption rate. For now, not too many consumers or retailers are flocking to Bitcoin as an alternative payment option. Once that situation changes, the playing field of financial service providers will see some significant changes. This shift has already begun, as a lot of banks are exploring Bitcoin’s blockchain technology to make their own services more efficient.
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