Let’s make using crypto easy
By: Bryce Bjork
Tags: Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin Wallet, Yale, Bitcoin

Cryptocurrency is center stage. The rapid rise of bitcoin and the emergence of altcoins has everyone thinking about cryptos and the esoteric blockchain. In the last few months, bitcoin went from deep subreddits and tech communities to the front pages of every major publication. We all watched with awe as the price of bitcoin skyrocketed, thinking about our early-adopter friends that just became millionaires.

In the midst of crypto fervor, it can be easy to lose sight of the true value of digital currency. Companies like Coinbase are capitalizing on greed, showing charts that imply over 1000% return, and confirming the idea that cryptocurrency is just an easy way to get rich.

Over 10 million people, many of whom don’t even understand how bitcoin or ethereum work, have created a Coinbase account.

But Cryptocurrency isn’t about making money — it’s about digitizing money

While price fluctuations have made early holders wealthy, the real value of Bitcoin is the use of a distributed ledger to record transactions. Cryptocurrency simplifies the flow of funds and eliminates the need for a trusted third party. Right now, if you wanted to move money around the world, it would be faster to fly with cash than it would to send the money electronically. That’s crazy. Moving money should be easy.

Banks, payment processors, financial services – everyone is trying to skim off the flow of funds through our financial system (they’re stealing from you). Cryptocurrency makes the movement of money fluid and frictionless, and eliminates the need for middlemen that aren’t providing true value.

What’s more, centralized institutions claim the right to determine who does and does not deserve access to financial services. Every day, people are rejected from conventional banking, in and outside of the developed world. In a capitalist society, access to financial services is not just a nicety, it’s a human right. Cryptocurrency can liberate us, providing everyone an equal opportunity to accept money from employers (and friends) and spend money on goods and services. You can’t win at cards if you aren’t dealt any.

And it needs to be easy

Cryptocurrency will never gain traction unless people have an easy way to use their digital currencies.

Hot wallets on the App Store today make users save and secure long mnemonic seeds, and they reduce people to 30-digit addresses in an effort to emphasize anonymity. This is not a recipe for mass adoption — we are inadvertently scaring people away from using Bitcoin as an everyday currency. Using cryptocurrency should be simple, intuitive, and beautiful. If we intend to make digital currency a viable payment system, then we must prioritize the user over the technology. It is only through beautiful, functional design that we can share the magic of blockchain-based assets with the entirety of society.

So, join us

While the technology behind bitcoin is groundbreaking, the products built around it are lagging. Bitcoin and digital assets provide a foundation for trust-less financial services, but their impact is limited by the usability and thoughtfulness of consumer-facing crypto products. With Splash, we want to bring cryptocurrency into everyday life, for everyday transactions, for everyone.

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