Bitcoin for blind people

[Kong Hey Pakboy]

There are a lot of great innovations today that was invented for people with disabilities scuh as blind people, that is why they manage to get into the trend to use laptops and smartphones. But to be honest, there will be some things that will be complicated for blind people to understand and adopt cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, especially trading and crypto wallets are not user-friendly for blind people because how can they watch the market charts and look at the value if they can't see.

[Oceat]

~~
Any thoughts?

Let alone for new innovations like this, facilities and other general services are still not optimal in providing services to people with disabilities. Of course, if there are developers who care about this it will surely give equal opportunities to disabled people to enjoy Crypto world. Although difficult, it does not mean impossible.

It is indeed difficult but not impossible although it will require a text-to-speech if the visually impaired person is using. Of course, there's always a way to make things possible for them but someone should fund this kind of project to let the blind people to do trading. The fact that it looks as a handicap already to them I won't say that a blind traders won't make a mistake if the voice is unclear. I can only think a lot of trial and errors for this to possibly happen in the future.

[Bobby park]

We know that cryptocurrency it's not just like a physical money that can possibly store on a bank, that why it is more risky and unsecured in terms of storing online. But there are ubiquitous way to store this cryptocurrency with the use of hardware wallet, like Ledger Nano and Trezor.

But this is the main problem if there are some blind crypto enthusiast who are willing to work in crypto world. For this issues there are group of people developed a new way of securing crypto currency that help blind people who wants to secure their crypto currency.

This #Icywallet really helped people to engage themselves in crypto currency without doubt and hesitation. https://bitcoinist.com/creating-worlds-first-bitcoin-wallet-blind/

[boyptc]

Probably the 2nd time that I've seen this kind of topic was made. But it has a point that bitcoin should also be accessible by them.

Check out this project that goes over the wallet part: https://icywallet.com/ with a combination of ADA tools like screen readers they could visit an exchange's website to buy or trade coins. There are guidelines like WCAG here: https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref/ that go over accessibility. I'm unaware of any exchanges are trading platforms that have incorporated this into their offerings, maybe someone else can chime in here.

Interesting.

I think I've seen this too on that topic before.

Let's see if huge corporations and known crypto companies, exchanges and other manufacturers will apply this idea to their next editions.

[BlackFor3st]

I've been into Bitcoin for quite a few years, and I'm impressed to see how far it has reached in the mainstream world. It's the most widely-adopted cryptocurrency for decentralized payments worldwide without the need for a middleman. In its current state, Bitcoin works wonders for ordinary people like you and me. It's only a matter of putting the right BTC address and the number of coins to send to get started using the Bitcoin blockchain.

However, my concern is how blind people are able to get used to Bitcoin? To my knowledge, wallets (either with a GUI or CLI) don't have "text-to-speech" features to make blind people's lives easier. It'd be great if developers keep blind people in mind to help increase the adoption of the pioneer cryptocurrency in the mainstream world. The only thing I've found is an audiobook of the Bitcoin whitepaper which is a great solution to introduce blind people into the "mechanics" of Bitcoin.

Any thoughts?

Bitcoin and other crypto currencies are not yet ready to serve everyone as it needs to solve first it's problems like what you have mentioned, blind people can't use bitcoin yet if it will implemented as the main payment system. That is only one of many problems that bitcoin will face in case it will be use as main payment someday.

If we are going to compare the fiat and bitcoin, fiat will be a lot simplier for blind people to use compare to bitcoin even if it can provide a mechanics that will convert speech to text and vice versa. But a solution will likely to be provided in the near future where everyone can easily use bitcoin and other currencies without any difficulties as we are continuing to develop our technology.

[Assface16678]

I've been into Bitcoin for quite a few years, and I'm impressed to see how far it has reached in the mainstream world. It's the most widely-adopted cryptocurrency for decentralized payments worldwide without the need for a middleman. In its current state, Bitcoin works wonders for ordinary people like you and me. It's only a matter of putting the right BTC address and the number of coins to send to get started using the Bitcoin blockchain.

However, my concern is how blind people are able to get used to Bitcoin? To my knowledge, wallets (either with a GUI or CLI) don't have "text-to-speech" features to make blind people's lives easier. It'd be great if developers keep blind people in mind to help increase the adoption of the pioneer cryptocurrency in the mainstream world. The only thing I've found is an audiobook of the Bitcoin whitepaper which is a great solution to introduce blind people into the "mechanics" of Bitcoin.

Any thoughts?

Bitcoin and other crypto currencies are not yet ready to serve everyone as it needs to solve first it's problems like what you have mentioned, blind people can't use bitcoin yet if it will implemented as the main payment system. That is only one of many problems that bitcoin will face in case it will be use as main payment someday.

If we are going to compare the fiat and bitcoin, fiat will be a lot simplier for blind people to use compare to bitcoin even if it can provide a mechanics that will convert speech to text and vice versa. But a solution will likely to be provided in the near future where everyone can easily use bitcoin and other currencies without any difficulties as we are continuing to develop our technology.

The @OP want to make a suggestion about the bitcoin use by the blind people and today it is not capable to suit this kind of development because today the use of the bitcoin is into the world of the Internet even we have a lot of devices that supports the people with disability like the sensor it is hard to make a speech program to make some trading and investment to the market of the bitcoin as we see it takes a lot of learnings and experience before we get some earnings into bitcoin also you must need to monitor the market graph also the movement of the coins, some how if the person can handle the speech voice only to make trading it is good but if it is not it can be stressful to the user to make investment on bitcoin to the thing they did not see if the movement is good or not still it is in the capability of the developer and the group project if they want to push this kind of movements.

As I was reading the thread, I realized how the accuracy was on point. I mean, this type of field and opportunity isn't just for those who are aware about these with their naked eyes, but also, for those who are not.

For a person to reach this type of concern is... Wow..

This kind of project will takes time to make because it is all about voice activation and also the infrared sensor to make sure they will really help the users to do the thing they want to their bitcoins.

[tsaroz]

Assisting the visually disabled is a user interface related issue. It's the wallet that should come up with the solution be it a simple text to speech reader or a wallet based on hotkey. Even the external accessibility software for visually disabled can help them use the wallet. With the adoption of bitcoin increasing, we could expect someone would come up with some ideas to assist them.

[jacktheking]

Your take for a visually impaired friendly wallet is great. I would just like to add that, actually, Windows comes with a Text-To-Speech system (bundled with it Assistive feature) - officially known as Narrator. It is able to read webpages and read aloud the current selected widget. With that, I believe that web-based wallet (such as CoinSpace^) are already friendly enough for the visually impaired - considering that they have much more experience in using the Narrator feature already.

* I tested out the Narrator on CoinSpace and it is not that accurate. However, take into consideration that the visually impaired will most likely be used to it already (or that they are using some other proprietary software with more accurate result).

[royalfestus]

It is very relevant and important problem that any startup can engage at a very low hardcap, exchanges and escrow company can also look into it. The idea will be on the solution to communication with all users and security of their coins. Like every financial institution they might need first acquaintance with third party before the confidentially in later. It is important the currency is available for everybody for use and transaction irrespective of their physical inabilities.

[Eugenar]

Bitcoin is really helpful for everyone in this world, we have so many things got from this bitcoin, so I think learning bitcoin would be really good for everyone, there are already some schools that are planning to have a cryptocurrency program which is really good to have.

Bitcoin for blind people can be also possible because there are so many technologies that are meant to used by blind people to express their feelings or the things they want to say. It would be great if there would be technology that will be created to help blind people to access bitcoin or other cryptocurrency.

Great idea however it lacks of something a driver for developers to come up with it. What I mean is the idea comes off too short, it would be that problematic at all because just think if it becomes real then what do you want for blind people to do then? Go out and spend their bitcoin? would not it be better if they have a company with them? I think it be a nice idea for digital wallets to make a sound (custom sound) for every expenditure. If this go real, then everything that revolves bitcoin should adjust too. imo.

Indeed, if there would be technology that will be created by some developers or some programmers, I think it would not be enough because eyes are the main used part of our body in cryptocurrency. If there would be technology for them, it will still be hard for them to access bitcoin.

[bitbunnny]

Bitcoin is really helpful for everyone in this world, we have so many things got from this bitcoin, so I think learning bitcoin would be really good for everyone, there are already some schools that are planning to have a cryptocurrency program which is really good to have.

Bitcoin for blind people can be also possible because there are so many technologies that are meant to used by blind people to express their feelings or the things they want to say. It would be great if there would be technology that will be created to help blind people to access bitcoin or other cryptocurrency.

Great idea however it lacks of something a driver for developers to come up with it. What I mean is the idea comes off too short, it would be that problematic at all because just think if it becomes real then what do you want for blind people to do then? Go out and spend their bitcoin? would not it be better if they have a company with them? I think it be a nice idea for digital wallets to make a sound (custom sound) for every expenditure. If this go real, then everything that revolves bitcoin should adjust too. imo.

Indeed, if there would be technology that will be created by some developers or some programmers, I think it would not be enough because eyes are the main used part of our body in cryptocurrency. If there would be technology for them, it will still be hard for them to access bitcoin.

I don't agree that. Already there are technologies who help people with very bad sight or who are blind to use computers and internet so.I don't see why would there be any difference with cryptocurrencies. All people, even disabled ones in any way need to have the equal rights and access to new technologies. In.some countries there are also laws about it.

[Abiky]

Check out this project that goes over the wallet part: https://icywallet.com/ with a combination of ADA tools like screen readers they could visit an exchange's website to buy or trade coins. There are guidelines like WCAG here: https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref/ that go over accessibility. I'm unaware of any exchanges are trading platforms that have incorporated this into their offerings, maybe someone else can chime in here.

Thanks, mate. This is very useful. At last, a developer has taken the effort to make Bitcoin accessible to blind people. With Satoshi's ambitions of making Bitcoin useful to the world, this is a pretty big achievement. The basic part of sending/receiving Bitcoin transactions for blind people should suffice. At least, blind people can interact with the BTC blockchain thanks to this project. But the real deal would be exchanging Bitcoin to Fiat or any other cryptocurrency via a centralized or decentralized exchange. I'm not aware of any exchange that's friendly for blind people, so that's something that needs to be solved in the future.

Considering that there's still a lot of work to be done, the only way blind people will be able to truly use Bitcoin nowadays is with some human assistance. It's hoped that as popularity for the pioneer cryptocurrency grows, developers will be interested in creating an infrastructure for the visually-impaired. The "IcyWallet" project is genius work, as it allows any blind person to interact with the Bitcoin blockchain with ease. I'm beginning to wonder how BTC addresses will be read by the wallet itself? Setting a label for an address or something simple where the blind person would understand, could prove to be quite convenient for the end user. I'm sure the dev will come up with a solution for this, if it hasn't been implemented yet.

If, say a 'tag' is used for an address, how would the visually impaired know that it was not rigged in any way?

That's something that needs to be "tackled" with, if developers want blind people to use Bitcoin securely. At some point, human assistance will be needed to verify the authenticity of the wallet. It's the only way to know that it's not been "rigged" in any way. The "IcyWallet" developer could simply make the software speak a unique code that would let the blind person know the same is authentic and not modified in any way. At least, better something than nothing. This wallet may have some issues, but it seems to do its job pretty well. As long as the developer continues to work on it, flaws will be mitigated over time. Let's support this project in order to help increase Bitcoin adoption for the visually-impaired.

[Finestream]

I think bitcoin is not really design for everyone, just like online banking that has been adoption for a long period of time but they don't have that kind of feature, blind people just need to get assistance from people they trust. Well, we can't say that the current set up would not be improve but I'm not sure if there's anything it can add to the nature of bitcoin now, probably a 3rd party if they'll developing something for the blind people, then they can get use of it, but it's currently not the priority I guess as there are a lot of alternatives like the aforementioned.

[junnar1968]

Basesd on my research A Kentucky-based developer named Adam Newbold is on a mission to build a unique hardware wallet designed specifically for the blind. The wallet is currently under development and its called IcyWallet. The project was able to raise $1,986.75 in Bitcoin to translate Satoshi Nakamoto's whitepaper into braille and that will be cool! BTC for everyone!

[Gozie51]

Basesd on my research A Kentucky-based developer named Adam Newbold is on a mission to build a unique hardware wallet designed specifically for the blind. The wallet is currently under development and its called IcyWallet. The project was able to raise $1,986.75 in Bitcoin to translate Satoshi Nakamoto's whitepaper into braille and that will be cool! BTC for everyone!

That is nice and will be good if you provide us the link to this information.
Blind people make up the world popular and taking them along will add up to adoption rate.

[lionheart78]

I've been into Bitcoin for quite a few years, and I'm impressed to see how far it has reached in the mainstream world. It's the most widely-adopted cryptocurrency for decentralized payments worldwide without the need for a middleman. In its current state, Bitcoin works wonders for ordinary people like you and me. It's only a matter of putting the right BTC address and the number of coins to send to get started using the Bitcoin blockchain.

However, my concern is how blind people are able to get used to Bitcoin? To my knowledge, wallets (either with a GUI or CLI) don't have "text-to-speech" features to make blind people's lives easier. It'd be great if developers keep blind people in mind to help increase the adoption of the pioneer cryptocurrency in the mainstream world. The only thing I've found is an audiobook of the Bitcoin whitepaper which is a great solution to introduce blind people into the "mechanics" of Bitcoin.

Any thoughts?

As much as I support your idea, but I think the current adoption of Bitcoin isn't enough motivation for developers to create a specific program for blind people.  I believe the current priority of developers is for the perfection of Bitcoin blockchain integration for the more important matters that will give a greater impact on worldwide adoption.  Possibly when all these needed things are implemented, it is by then developers will focus on developing application for specific groups of PWDs.

[AmoreJaz]

Basesd on my research A Kentucky-based developer named Adam Newbold is on a mission to build a unique hardware wallet designed specifically for the blind. The wallet is currently under development and its called IcyWallet. The project was able to raise $1,986.75 in Bitcoin to translate Satoshi Nakamoto's whitepaper into braille and that will be cool! BTC for everyone!

that's a very noble act! but why this project raised only small amount of money? i hope this is just a start-up funds for this project. it would take a while to develop this project. and once this wp converted intro braille, the problem is about the wallet itself. how are they going to handle it?
 but anyway, technology will find a way how to realise these things. and hope Newbold is successful with his mission.

to check the current updates on icywallet -
https://icywallet.com/

most articles were published in 2017 -
https://www.ibtimes.com/developer-making-first-bitcoin-wallet-blind-2618126
https://coolblindtech.com/developer-making-the-first-bitcoin-wallet-for-the-blind/
https://bitcoinist.com/creating-worlds-first-bitcoin-wallet-blind/

[Anna138]

I've been into Bitcoin for quite a few years, and I'm impressed to see how far it has reached in the mainstream world. It's the most widely-adopted cryptocurrency for decentralized payments worldwide without the need for a middleman. In its current state, Bitcoin works wonders for ordinary people like you and me. It's only a matter of putting the right BTC address and the number of coins to send to get started using the Bitcoin blockchain.

However, my concern is how blind people are able to get used to Bitcoin? To my knowledge, wallets (either with a GUI or CLI) don't have "text-to-speech" features to make blind people's lives easier. It'd be great if developers keep blind people in mind to help increase the adoption of the pioneer cryptocurrency in the mainstream world. The only thing I've found is an audiobook of the Bitcoin whitepaper which is a great solution to introduce blind people into the "mechanics" of Bitcoin.

Any thoughts?

I don't know, I think it will be difficult to implement. Of course, you can use the voice dialing function, but again, how to track transactions and how to understand whether you entered the name of the wallet correctly, vedt are huge codes, and not just 12 digits as on a normal credit card. In my opinion, this is difficult to implement now.

[oprahwindfury]

The concept is nice but here remains some questions.The whole process is  covered with a lot of problems. although,it will be a very good thing if blind people can live with crypto currency.The Point is crypto is easy but secured so blind people can not co-operate properly with crypto currency earning and currency spending by themsleves.

[Latviand]

Bitcoin is free for all people, especially for those who are willing and dedicated to engage to it.

This is a good idea so that anyone can access it and there's no such thing that could prevent them from investing on bitcoin. No matter what your situation and disabilities are as long as you are willing to deal with the market, you can do it. Especially that our technology nowadays are really advanced and still in development so it is really not impossible to see this kind of adoption.