Opinion: 2020 Rise of Crypto Travel - Bitcoin & Altcoin Expansion?

[gmjutt6]

We are living in very interesting times, 2020 has been quite exceptional so far. The global pandemic has seen huge shifts economically in many countries.

Yet still the modern era which has seen huge leaps in technology, from flatter televisions to the ability to create new and exciting cashless systems in the Cryptocurrency sector - business and science still has a problem solving economic downturn during and after a crisis.

Cash just does not flow the same in a climate such as we see in 2020, where many people are just not able to switch hands with cash physically due to lockdown rules.

Stores are still closed in high numbers in cities and towns globally, jobs have been list and industry is in turmoil. Politics does not seem to have answers to the problems of 2020 in which people are limited in physical contact due to health measures, and the ability to drive the economy upwards - the travel industry being effected more than most.

Whole economies rely on tourism... But is there really any need in modern world for Travel Agent Stores?

One answer to the problem of cash flowing through the travel industry could be via Cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.

Imagine a world in which you did not have to use your credit card or cold hard cash to book a flight or a taxi? Where one simple transaction, secure and quick books your entire vacation through one easy network...

There Bitcoin could make booking and travel interesting - Bitcoin could bring endless possibilities from bookings to food in simple micro crypto transactions or large amounts, with greater speed than regular cash, much more securely. However one such snag could be the 'invisibility' of a customer during transactions. This would have to be overcome, in order to progress Cryptocurrency and travel.

In my opinion, the more industry does not need human workers and moves towards Artificial Intelligence, also automation and robots Cryptocurrency will find its way one way or another. It is the future of a modern world. In any case... Who likes jogging to catch a taxi at the airport and losing your change all over the ground? I don't...

[Haunebu]

There are major flaws in your argument op. Firstly, a very small percentage of the crypto investors utilize BTC as a payment method since majority of them see it as an asset and nothing more.

Next issue is that the transaction fees and times fluctuate due to the volatility problem with BTC due to which other digital payment methods would be preferable in comparison.

Another issue is that BTC and cryptocurrencies are not allowed everywhere. Certain countries have banned them due to which people in those countries find it tough to invest into the crypto market.

Your argument makes sense only if all these issues were to be addressed which is possible, but won't happen anytime soon in my opinion.

[cryptoperkele]

Too early for that, we need much higher marketcap, more liquidity and regulations to make sure that one person doesn't crash the value of bitcoin in one hour etc.

And then there are taxing issues what is probably a big reason why most companies don't accept bitcoin as a payment. They are a mess and probably designed to be so to combat shadow banking.

[Lucius]

Imagine a world in which you did not have to use your credit card or cold hard cash to book a flight or a taxi? Where one simple transaction, secure and quick books your entire vacation through one easy network...

There are travel agencies that accept Bitcoin as a means of payment, it is not a problem either in booking or paying for plane tickets. But the current problem is in virus which is the main obstacle for people to travel, regardless of what was used as a means of payment.

Haunebu point is valid, most people who own crypto don’t want to spend it so easily, which is of course their right. However, I think that at this moment the BTC blockchain is not able to successfully (quickly and cheaply enough) process a very large number of transactions. Some upgrades that we hope will solve these problems are already available, and some are still being worked on.

[batang_bitcoin]

We are going far with technology and expect that cashless transactions will be adopted and bitcoin will be considered on it. There are services that allows you to book tickets and even hotels with bitcoin but likewise as Haunebu pointed out, I'd be happy to keep it instead for the meanwhile rather than spending it on these times. I know that bitcoin was made for us to spend and help the spending power of it but things are changing a little by little and we're free to choose whether we keep or spend it.

[DdmrDdmr]

<…>

You seem to bring crypto into the argument here as if it would sweeten the customer payment experience, and it really wouldn’t do so, at least not in its current form, and even less if we perform native end-to-end TX:

There are regulatory aspects to consider (per country), TX time until x confirmations have been made, actual will to use crypto (as opposed to storing it), ease of use for the common people (just picture people that you have in your environment, outside of the forum, and analyse whether they could really manage a wallet and all that it entails), and so forth. As things stand it is way more complex method of payment to the average Joe, and that will take time to change.

Sure it can wiggle it’s way in, and become a method of payment with a larger spread than it currently has (to what extent, I cannot predict), but it’s easy to get carried away with the idea, where by, in practical terms, there’s still a long road ahead.

[so98nn]

We are living in very interesting times, 2020 has been quite exceptional so far.

Yet still the modern era which has seen huge leaps in technology, from flatter televisions to the ability to create new and exciting cashless systems in the Cryptocurrency sector - business and science still has a problem solving economic downturn during and after a crisis.

Indeed. The 21st century has transformed the world like anything. The world war was the era which in first up lifted the technological and scientific advancements. That was thought with the intentions that they might be able to overcome the enemies power and win them but accidentally discovered new elements, rocket technology, chemical exploration, medicines and what not. Until today the growth in these two sector has been exponential and it will keep doing so.

In those times, there was nothing but crisis of everything!!! (Economics, human life and more)

Stores are still closed in high numbers in cities and towns globally, jobs have been list and industry is in turmoil. Politics does not seem to have answers to the problems of 2020 in which people are limited in physical contact due to health measures, and the ability to drive the economy upwards - the travel industry being effected more than most.

Whole economies rely on tourism... But is there really any need in modern world for Travel Agent Stores?

Pretty justifiable. One can not reject that pandemic has gone worst and made things very insecure in terms of economic and industrialisation. However, i have stated previously in one of the post that there had been major breakdowns globally but we swiftly passed all of them stood again. This can be done again.

One answer to the problem of cash flowing through the travel industry could be via Cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.

Imagine a world in which you did not have to use your credit card or cold hard cash to book a flight or a taxi? Where one simple transaction, secure and quick books your entire vacation through one easy network...

May be and may be not. It's still dream for millions and sadly we have to refuse the idea of bitcoin networking idea. World won't be thinking about bitcoin in such crisis in the first place. They will think how they can recover the traditional economy. Why would anyone go this far and make things complicated, thats the question here.

[20kevin20]

I think one of the largest issues would be transaction irreversibility to be honest. Travel with BTC sounds good and all but when you think about it more in-depth, situations such as the current quarantine mean that a ticket from March or April when BTC fell to sub $6k and had it delayed for just a few weeks, it would be worth almost half of the paid price in BTC today. Do you get back your money in the same amount of USD you paid initially or in BTC? Both are able to create issues if the customers don't agree.

The only crypto that will succeed this way and turn to immense adoption is the coin that will be easy to use, easy to understand, has instant transactions with instant confirmations etc. The current features we have today with decentralized cryptos are not helpful at all for large usage. So yes, as much as I love BTC, I have to be realistic and say that it's hard to believe Bitcoin or other decentralized crypto will ever get to the "dream features" for massive adoption before a centralized one will.

[BrewMaster]

the only relative argument that you could have made  when you speak about tourism and travel is that unlike any other fiat, even the popular everywhere fiat like USD is that bitcoin is a global currency. so it is not just about booking flights or the vacation. instead using bitcoin could potentially have the benefit of not having to exchange your money to another currency before travel which is a hassle for tourists. not to mention that carrying around bitcoin is a lot safer than carrying around money.

[kryptqnick]

the only relative argument that you could have made  when you speak about tourism and travel is that unlike any other fiat, even the popular everywhere fiat like USD is that bitcoin is a global currency. so it is not just about booking flights or the vacation. instead using bitcoin could potentially have the benefit of not having to exchange your money to another currency before travel which is a hassle for tourists. not to mention that carrying around bitcoin is a lot safer than carrying around money.

But even this could be refuted in the following way: when travelling to many countries nowadays, people can pay for everything or nearly everything with debit cards containing their local fiat which is being automatically converted to fiat of the country where they are travelling. I've done it when goes to Sweden and paid for everything with my Ukrainian debit card without ever needing to exchange money directly or pay any fees for using the card. The conversion rate was as good as it can be and no additional charges applied. My point here is that debit card can offer these things, which means that Bitcoin is not at advantage here, especially given that it can't be used almost anywhere, the fees are very significant sometimes, and the price is quite volatile.

[hatshepsut93]

You are severely misunderstanding Bitcoin if you think that being digital is its signature feature.

One answer to the problem of cash flowing through the travel industry could be via Cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.

Imagine a world in which you did not have to use your credit card or cold hard cash to book a flight or a taxi? Where one simple transaction, secure and quick books your entire vacation through one easy network...

There's no problem with cash in travel industry, and there's no big problems with card payments. Most people don't see much reason to adopt Bitcoin because existing payment methods already satisfying to them. You are misapplying Bitcoin if you think that it's more convenient or offers better user experience - it's not, because managing private keys is risky, people make mistakes with addresses, the fees can get high, hacks and scams are very common.

The real benefit of Bitcoin is that it removes intermediaries, and in case of traveling it's useful if you need to move a large sum of money, that is much higher than existing limits, across the board.

[alani123]

With less money generally flowing around, I think that people's propensity to spend anything, let alone BTC, would be decreased.

First of all, people are becoming unemployed and the economy doesn't appear to be recovering even in countries with very small numbers of cases. Businesses tried to re-open, only to find out they couldn't cover costs. Many large enterprises are waiting for state-sponsored bail-outs or their financial doom.

BTC is largely considered a means to save money, especially robust in a financial crisis as it is disconnected from the system. Given that the situation with the virus has still not been assessed, it's important not to be overly optimistic over anything. Travel though, is one of the industries that was hit the most. This industry is responsible for a big part of the current unemployment wave. Maybe due to reduced cash flowing around, some  people would be looking to liquidate some BTC to satisfy lower needs if they don't have other cash flowing around for them.

But sure as hell I couldn't see a trend around spending BTC for travel at the time of the pandemic. Those able in financial terms and healthy enough in terms of age, would have other forms of income to spend first for sure if they wanted to travel.

[gentlemand]

Merchant adoption has been slowly contracting since it peaked many years ago. There's nothing on the horizon to indicate that's changing any time soon. There've been plenty of travel options that have been and gone.

No one wants to spend it. It's a shame as I would like more options but for most people why would they spend BTC on a sandwich or taxi when it's potentially worth more in future?

And in areas with first world banking you have fee free cards that let you spend in the local currency without extra cost.

[thesmallgod]

Delta airline accept crypto through bitpay I don't know of others airline. There was also a block chain project that launch Mozotoken which could be a gateway to using crypto for booking and doing shopping in more than 3000 shops across the world but the project is currently inactive. The use of AI and Robotics also have its cons and such could easily be noticed in rise in unemployment. Also you make reference to identity when making transaction but I do not think it is necessary for a micro purchase. Is it even necessary for restaurants to know me before I make order for food ?

[rodskee]

There are major flaws in your argument op. Firstly, a very small percentage of the crypto investors utilize BTC as a payment method since majority of them see it as an asset and nothing more.

Yes, Bitcoin still being considered as valuable assets than being used and serves its real purposes.

Next issue is that the transaction fees and times fluctuate due to the volatility problem with BTC due to which other digital payment methods would be preferable in comparison.

Business owners doesn't want to risk with volatilities, the reason why they are still not convince adopting
and using this crpytocurrency for payment process.

Another issue is that BTC and cryptocurrencies are not allowed everywhere. Certain countries have banned them due to which people in those countries find it tough to invest into the crypto market.

There are countries that still refusing and ignoring bitcoin, tagging it as scam form of currency.

Your argument makes sense only if all these issues were to be addressed which is possible, but won't happen anytime soon in my opinion.

Agree to that, it takes time to address those issues and bitcoin still working on it in a progressive ways.

[traderethereum]

I think what OP says can happen in the future, as we see that new technology is invented by many people every day.
They want to use robots and other automation to makes their life simple.
That can impact the cryptocurrency, and we don't need to use fiat to pay, and we can only scan the barcode from the wallet to pay something.
Right now, you can use crypto to pay something, but well, we can not see many offline or online stores that will accept crypto as a new option in payment method.
But to see cryptocurrency can be used as a secondary payment system will need time.

[bitbunnny]

I think what OP says can happen in the future, as we see that new technology is invented by many people every day.
They want to use robots and other automation to makes their life simple.
That can impact the cryptocurrency, and we don't need to use fiat to pay, and we can only scan the barcode from the wallet to pay something.
Right now, you can use crypto to pay something, but well, we can not see many offline or online stores that will accept crypto as a new option in payment method.
But to see cryptocurrency can be used as a secondary payment system will need time.

It's inevitable for new technologies to develope and expand and take more and more important place in our lives. However, I think that such progress isn't so visible in case of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. Still very smal people use Bitcoin as a payment, many see it purely as asset and still very limited number of merchants accept Bitcoin or crypto as a payment method. That includes travel agencies too so I don't expect major progress to happen over night. Also, there is lack of regulation for cryptocurrencies especialy in financial world.
In the future we'll might see some improvement, especialy if such pandemics or something even worse become our reality for longer period of time but nothing will happen over night.

[davis196]

Bitcoin should be widely accepted everywhere,not just in the Tourism industry.
The tourism industry is basically destroyed by the closed borders and the lockdowns.In my country,all the hotels are working just to reduce the losses,but I don't think that they will survive for more than one month.
Travel agencies are going bankrupt.In a situation like this,no Travel agency and nobody with a business in this industry would even care about accepting Bitcoin payments.The global amount of active cryptocurrency users is less than 5 million people,which is ridiculously small number.No Travel agency would bother focusing on such small niche of the market,in times of a furious economic crisis.

[dothebeats]

I don't think people will see the importance of crypto even with stricter guidelines against physical cash, as there are still the likes of Paypal and other online payment processors that can easily be used for payments. While bitcoin saw some surging interest over the past few months for the investors since it gave them free access to profits, I don't think that that in itself would be cause for the public to start giving bitcoin more attention than it used to have. It certainly has the capability to offer such, but why would people drift away from something that they can already used conveniently to try something that is basically unproven in their own views?

[Benefactor]

We are living in very interesting times, 2020 has been quite exceptional so far. The global pandemic has seen huge shifts economically in many countries.

Yet still the modern era which has seen huge leaps in technology, from flatter televisions to the ability to create new and exciting cashless systems in the Cryptocurrency sector - business and science still has a problem solving economic downturn during and after a crisis.

Cash just does not flow the same in a climate such as we see in 2020, where many people are just not able to switch hands with cash physically due to lockdown rules.

Stores are still closed in high numbers in cities and towns globally, jobs have been list and industry is in turmoil. Politics does not seem to have answers to the problems of 2020 in which people are limited in physical contact due to health measures, and the ability to drive the economy upwards - the travel industry being effected more than most.

Whole economies rely on tourism... But is there really any need in modern world for Travel Agent Stores?

One answer to the problem of cash flowing through the travel industry could be via Cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.

Imagine a world in which you did not have to use your credit card or cold hard cash to book a flight or a taxi? Where one simple transaction, secure and quick books your entire vacation through one easy network...

There Bitcoin could make booking and travel interesting - Bitcoin could bring endless possibilities from bookings to food in simple micro crypto transactions or large amounts, with greater speed than regular cash, much more securely. However one such snag could be the 'invisibility' of a customer during transactions. This would have to be overcome, in order to progress Cryptocurrency and travel.

In my opinion, the more industry does not need human workers and moves towards Artificial Intelligence, also automation and robots Cryptocurrency will find its way one way or another. It is the future of a modern world. In any case... Who likes jogging to catch a taxi at the airport and losing your change all over the ground? I don't...

I think you forgot about the end of 2017. The end of 2017 was a golden time for all Bitcoin users. Bitcoin is in a good position in the current context. No one can imagine the best position of Bitcoin. I don't think the time to invest in Bitcoin has passed yet. I have always considered investing in Bitcoin as an asset.