Tristan Thoma, AlphaPoint’s Director of Product, Government & Payments, spoke at BTC Prague with other influential voices in the payments and fintech industry in Europe. This year’s event had over 10,000+ attendees from Europe and beyond, with a strong emphasis on educating and promoting bitcoin.
Tristan works to make bitcoin more accessible worldwide. He wants to have a bigger impact on society and the economy. He plans to achieve this by combining it with traditional finance, payment tech, and modern banking.
Historic Comparison:
Referencing the Romans, Tristan begins his session by exploring how they funded the infrastructure and built the roads in England that became the standard for the grooves that trolley’s and cart makers used. Tristan weighs how we are creating new rails and new standards globally that will be used for hundreds of years; “ideally we’re making rails for the transfer of value, we’re making a new standard that can be used globally for access to financial instruments, financial access for the entire world.”
Building a Crypto-Friendly Ecosystem – Key Initiatives and Regulations:
When traditional financial systems integrate Bitcoin, it can have a positive effect on society and the economy. This integration brings new advantages to different groups of people and helps more people access financial services. You can see this impact in various ways:
Enhancing Financial Inclusion: Integrating Bitcoin into the legacy financial system can provide access to financial services for unbanked or underbanked populations. By enabling easy and cost-effective cross-border transactions, Bitcoin can empower individuals in developing countries and facilitate remittances.
Reducing Transaction Costs: Bitcoin’s decentralized system and low fees can lower costs for international payments, money transfers, and buying goods. This can particularly benefit small businesses and entrepreneurs who operate on thin margins.
Speeding Up Transactions: Bitcoin transactions are typically faster than traditional banking systems, especially for international transfers. This can improve the efficiency of money movement and help businesses streamline their operations.
Fostering Innovation: Integrating Bitcoin can encourage innovation within the legacy financial sector. Banks and finance firms can create new products and services using blockchain, smart contracts, and DeFi to meet changing customer needs.
Enabling Financial Sovereignty: Bitcoin allows individuals to have greater control over their money, reducing their dependency on traditional banking systems. This is especially significant in regions with unstable economies or weak financial institutions.
Strengthening Security: Bitcoin’s blockchain technology improves security, making it more difficult for fraud and lowering the risk of data breaches and identity theft.
Facilitating Micropayments and Donations: Bitcoin’s divisibility allows for micropayments and donations, making it easier to support social causes with small contributions.
Promoting Investment Opportunities: Integrating Bitcoin with the legacy financial infrastructure can open new investment avenues for traditional investors who seek exposure to cryptocurrencies. This diversification can lead to potential economic growth and capital formation, as we see new opportunities arise from investing in cryptocurrency.
Improving Cross-Border Trade: Bitcoin helps international trade by lowering currency conversion costs and simplifying settlements, making cross-border transactions faster and more efficient.
Supporting Non-Profit and Humanitarian Efforts: Bitcoin supports non-profit and humanitarian efforts by ensuring donations reach the right people through transparency and traceability. This can increase their impact and raise awareness for important causes.
Bitcoin Challenges and Risks
When adding Bitcoin to the existing financial system, it is crucial to consider and address challenges and risks. These include following regulations, ensuring security, managing growth, and handling price changes. We need to develop regulatory frameworks to ensure consumer protection and prevent illicit activities while fostering innovation and financial inclusion. Additionally, the integration process should prioritize robust security measures to protect users’ funds and sensitive information.
Bitcoin as National Currency: Growth Potential
Tristan’s talk shows how combining Bitcoin with traditional finance can bring good changes to people, companies, and societies. This impact can be seen through El Salvador and the Central African Republic, as they have made bitcoin legal tender, showing how cryptocurrency can affect countries worldwide.
El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, aimed to enhance the country’s economy by utilizing cryptocurrency. He intended to achieve this by making the economy more efficient both domestically and internationally. El Salvadorian citizens sending money home as remittance accounts for up to a fifth of the country’s GDP, but traditionally they have to pay high transaction costs, and 70% of El Salvadorians in-country have no bank account. As a result, Bitcoin largely remedies the issue, enabling quick, cheap payments across borders without the need for intermediaries.
Enabling Access to Digital Assets Globally
Support AlphaPoint in enabling access to digital assets globally by viewing, liking, and sharing Tristan’s panel at BTC Prague 2023 conference. We’ll continue sharing powerful discussions of key players contributing to the future-of-fintech and transformation of payments solutions worldwide.
To learn more about AlphaPoint’s suite of white label exchange and payments solutions, please don’t hesitate to send a direct email to sales@alphapoint.com.
