Although reports against Bitcoin have been emerging and connecting it with frivolous and worst, terrorist activities, its retail price has jumped up to new heights making a lot of business and industry leaders think of possibilities to benefit from its growth.
Among the possible uses for Bitcoin's stupendous growth would be in the retail e-market where mobile payment could be an even better mode for customers to pay for products and services, based on a report from IBT. Companies like Apple have introduced this on their iPhone with the iOS' Apple Pay. Meanwhile, Google has been working with mobile payment developer Square to match, if not beat, Apple Pay in the mobile payment race. Google had been planning a system were registered users (with Android phones) could simply give out their initials to the cashier to making payments.
That's just in the US, Bitcoin mania would go beyond the border and even the North American continent. Two well known e-commerce giants in Europe and in Asia had also been looking at the promising growth Bitcoin had to offer. For starters, Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Makitani had already been studying the possibility of Bitcoin being used as a mode of payment. Being the largest e-retailer in Japan, Makitani and other officials had discussed crypto-currencies as an alternative to cash and credit card payment in the Rakuten Financial Conference held in Tokyo.
Also Apple and Google might have to expect some competition from Asia as Samsung would be buying LoopPay with the same goal in mind as the two mobile giants. LoopPay would be Samsung's gateway to the retail e-market.
Moving half across the world, German e-bank Fidor would be creating "end-to-end Bitcoin services" in cooperation with Bitcoin.de; the subscribers of the service would have one of their bank accounts linked to the Bitcoin service. Since this would be a bank service, this would also be the first ever insured and regulatory backed service for Bitcoin. Fidor was also planning to expand its services to the US once the project would kick-off.
Meanwhile, for people who would feel uneasy using their smartphones for financial transactions, Bitcoin-Wave introduced its BTC debit card. The project was launched with a French credit card issuer to create a Visa card that would work the same way as a regular debit card. However, the Seychelles based project would currently focus in the EU market.
Still, these innovations on the use of Bitcoin would still have to face challenges surrounding the crypto-currency especially concerning the money trail leading to terrorist groups. Then again, some Bitcoin advocates claimed that the crypto-currency shouldn't be blamed for the proliferation of such activities that endanger innocent civilians; rather, it should be the abusive users who exploit the technology who should be held accountable for these destructive activities.
For Bitcoin users around the world, one tried and tested verse might be useful. Money (or Bitcoin for this matter) is not the root of all evil, it's the love of money that turns nice people evil.
Join the Conversation