Crypto about to facelift retail, E-commerce in 2025
Cryptocurrency is gaining increased adoption. It is likely to be introduced as a government strategic reserve in 2025: an initiative led by incoming President Donal Trump and head of the D.O.G.E. department, Elon Musk. Central Bank Digital Currencies, or CBDCs, are also likely to feature more prominently and there will, of course, be an influx of new coins, especially new meme coins, launching in the next year.
What’s more, fintech companies will continue to develop new products that connect consumers and retailers, which could mean a bumper year for cryptocurrency usage.
Crypto Popularity
Since Bitcoin’s launch in 2009, cryptocurrency has piqued the interest of consumers and businesses. Bitcoin is now accepted by thousands of businesses with currencies like Ether and Solana proving popular for the establishment of smart contracts and DeFi apps, and coins like Doge and Tether proving popular on gaming and iGaming sites like Mega Dice. Crypto is popular on these sites because it enables fast deposits and withdrawals, while its lower transaction cost means crypto casinos can offer improved discounts and bonuses. What’s more, starting a game using a crypto wallet is much smoother than ordinary registration procedures.
Crypto’s 2024
Its debate during the 2024 US election saw it gain even more prominence and this is likely to lead to the establishment of a Bitcoin strategic reserve in the US and other countries, causing a scramble by central banks as well as institutional and individual investors to get their hands on the unique asset class.
Never Miss a Retail Update!But, Bitcoin wasn’t designed as a vehicle for investment. It was meant as a method of value transfer: effectively, a way to quickly and inexpensively send payments to other parties without the need for intervention by centralized groups.
Faster Payments
Cryptocurrencies are decentralized currencies. While central bodies like banks and financial institutions can help prevent fraud and ensure the security of payments, they do slow the payment process down.
Cryptocurrency dispenses with these organizations and the bureaucratic processes that accompany them, leading to immediate or near-instantenous payments that can be processed in a matter of seconds. The fastest cryptos can already complete payments virtually instantly, and these may enjoy increased adoption with retailers.
Reduced Costs
Cryptocurrency will continue to see increased adoption. Not only are payments quicker, ensuring retailers get their money faster, but they also cost less. Credit cards and other traditional payments can carry transactional costs of up to 3% for the retailer, as well as payment gateway and other fees. Crypto payments, in contrast, generally cost nothing more than a few cents per transaction and the costs are soaked up by the sender, rather than the recipient.
Borderless Payments
Payments are fast and inexpensive regardless of whether they are being sent down the road or to another continent. Cryptocurrencies don’t discern, either, which means users and retailers don’t have to opt for specific currencies just to send money abroad. Banks and other institutions may try and find ways to integrate these borderless payments into their own systems, especially through the establishment of CBDCs.
Smart Contracts
Blockchain is the technology that cryptocurrencies are built on. It is effectively a digital ledger on which smart contracts are established. When setting up a smart contract, conditions are applied to the contract and when these conditions are met, payment is processed or concluded.
The process is automated, and as well as basic contracts that enable simple payments, more complex multi-staged contracts can be created. Because the contracts are smart, actions trigger automatically, making the process quick, simple, and free from human error.
Supply Chain Management
Smart contracts are not just useful for remittances and payments. They can be used in supply chain management by retailers and suppliers. For example, a store can use blockchain to manage its inventory. Smart contracts can be established so that when stock reaches a certain level, the retailer automatically puts in an order for the delivery of new stock.
This kind of supply chain management is common in retail, but the automation of the process means that retailers never have to run out of stock and can reduce waste.
Food And Product Fraud Prevention
Food fraud is the intentional mislabelling of food for economic gain. There was a huge case in the UK and other European countries in 2013. Horse meat was included in meat products sold across the country, but was labelled as being beef, lamb, and other types of meat.
Blockchain can be used to help prevent this through the tokenization of raw resources. Animals can be registered on the blockchain while still on the farm, which makes it possible to track every ingredient in a food source.
Increased Consumer Adoption
2024 saw cryptocurrency discussed in a way that had never been discussed before. Donald Trump billed himself as the crypto President and vowed to make the US the crypto capital of the planet. His subsequent appointments to government and external positions mean he is staying true to his word, at least for now.
This has given cryptocurrency greater legitimacy, at least in the eyes of some wavering skeptics. This legitimacy means that more people will give cryptocurrency a chance. While some of this interest will naturally see people turn to cryptocurrency as an alternative investment vehicle, it will also see consumers more likely to hold and use crypto on a daily basis.
Greater Retailer Uptake
And, as consumers become more willing to spend with cryptocurrency, retailers will be more likely to offer it as a payment method. This uptake will increase further as fintech companies offer improved gateways and payment solutions.
Wallets are becoming increasingly easy to use, and some gateways enable consumers to spend cryptocurrency but immediately convert it to local currency so the recipient business doesn’t have to deal with crypto at all. We can expect to see more and more innovative fintech solutions that will make it easier for retail businesses to accept Bitcoin and altcoin payments.
Conclusion
Cryptocurrency has the potential to change the way consumers shop and retailers do business. As banks introduce CBDCs, or digital equivalents of fiat currencies, and governments implement strategic reserves of cryptocurrency coins, its uptake is only going to increase further.
Eventually, blockchain will bring improvements across the board, from automated supply and inventory management to the fight against food and product fraud that is rife within certain sectors.
