The emergence of digital assets, or cryptocurrencies, was a silver lining for the world’s under-represented, unbanked, and impoverished population, who had previously been denied even the most basic financial services. Certainly, cryptocurrencies can be used to conduct cross-border international payments in minutes, but the crypto payment may not be of immediate use to the recipient. This is where the difficulties begin and the need arises for a key to bridging the gap with the traditional way of finance in the world.
Transferring money across two different financial systems
Consider an online retailer that accepts cryptocurrency as a form of payment. The company owner has an easy on-ramp to the crypto highway and huge crypto assets owing to payments from all over the world. But, if the business owner lives in a country where cryptocurrencies are not acknowledged or accepted, they will have difficulty exiting the crypto highway and putting their assets to good use.
This is because converting from crypto to fiat currency, or vice versa, is essentially transferring monetary value between two financial systems with opposing regulations. As a result, such transactions are bound to cause friction. On-ramping was a major issue in the early days of the industry. Converting various fiat currencies into their digital equivalents was a massive undertaking. The introduction of a wide range of cryptocurrency exchanges, on the other hand, presented a practical answer.
In addition to exchanges, the chances to earn crypto for employment, accept crypto payments, and participate in reward programs, makes it easier than ever to jump on the crypto highway. However, getting off that metaphorical highway remains a challenge for users. Although centralised exchanges are an option, customers must still choose an exchange that allows them to off-ramp, exchanging crypto for their preferred currency. Even then, it can take days for the funds to be distributed, and some exchanges impose a withdrawal restriction. All of this contributes to off-ramp friction.
Consequently, the crypto industry requires a mechanism that allows users to on-ramp and off-ramp at their convenience in order to meet their various needs. Recent industry innovations in terms of crypto-fiat bridges may offer a solution in this regard.The goal of these crypto-to-fiat bridges is straightforward. They make converting crypto assets to fiat money simple. Some of these systems use a debit card model, allowing users to put their crypto holdings onto the card and use it to make everyday purchases.
Returning to the previous example, business owners still can allow clients to pay with cryptocurrency while receiving payment in fiat currency. If people prefer to have crypto assets, on the other hand, they can use those assets to make direct fiat payments for their daily requirements. This not only reduces the entry barriers to crypto, but it also expands the asset class’s application cases.
Utilising the Convenience of DeFi
The introduction of blockchain technology and digital assets is accelerating us towards a future where premium financial services are available to everyone throughout the world on a silver platter.
Decentralised finance, or DeFi, provides a few advantages over its more centralised equivalent. The first is efficiency. Removing intermediaries has been shown to reduce friction and help financial transactions flow more smoothly. The second benefit has to do with costs. In traditional finance, transaction middlemen charge fees that are typically greater than the prices you already pay on DeFi apps. DeFi’s final selling point is that it is a more open and democratic system. According to a 2017 research, around 1.7 billion adults worldwide are unbanked, meaning they are not part of the financial system. You don’t need a bank account to use financial tools through DeFi, but you do need an internet connection.
Decentralised finance has emerged as a strong contender for redefining financial services’ traditional benchmarks.
