With Bitcoin, Blockchain and the rest of the cryptocurrencies becoming more and more popular around the world recently, there’s no surprise why it could soon influence the way we travel. Now to many it may sound confusing, especially those who have handled physical currency their entire lives, but cryptocurrency and blockchain opens up so many more borders and opportunities and can enable travellers to go from country to country with a lot less hassle.
Like I just said, cash will not be needed. Even though cash is becoming less commonly used in general across the world due to the introduction of contactless payment methods with credit cards and smartphones and being able to transfer money electronically. Cryptocurrency doesn't need to be converted to the local currency when travelling to a different country, it can be used by anyone and everyone and even without those pesky fees that currency exchanges tend to sneak in there. Cryptocurrency can also help businesses with their accounting, as all transactions are logged in the ledger no matter how small the payment may be.
As well as the above point of digital currency being cashless, it is also decentralized, meaning that the currency is not controlled by a central government. It takes the power away from the giant businesses, banks and government and puts it back into the hands of individuals and smaller companies. It allows for global access without restrictions and the users can benefit greatly from being able to steer away from the ties of centralised money. Alongside this, blockchain is being used to create dApps which are basically decentralized apps.
It takes away the ability for big companies like Google and Facebook to be able to take your personal data and store it for their own use, providing for much more security for each individual person.
Expanding on the point of security, due to the recent increase in hackings across the web personal data is being stolen more and more frequently each and every day, leading to millions of cases of identity theft globally. In 2016 alone, it was reported that 15.4 Million people were victims of this over a multitude of platforms across the internet. Travellers have been majorly affected by this as many places such as hotels and cafes have open internet access, creating the perfect opportunities for hackers to come along and steal data with ease. Blockchain, however, can provide incredible security benefits, due to its decentralization once again. It is not connected to a central server where all of your data is stored, which means that hacking is pretty much impossible. If you keep your passkey safe, secure and don’t share it with anybody you should be totally safe. But be aware, you cannot reset your passkey.
One massive pro for travellers is that crypto can also bring cheaper flights. Due to their being no commission or fees involved with these currencies, flights in the near future should be much cheaper if purchased with Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Back in 2014 Expedia began accepting Bitcoin to pay for flights, they became the first in the aviation industry to accept the currency. They stopped accepting Bitcoin in 2018, however, CheapAir has sold over 5 Million flights using Bitcoin and that number is continuing to rise. We all know that the crypto markets are incredibly volatile which means it can be a massive risk for companies to accept these currencies as payment, but the way things are going at the moment suggests that more people will book flights with Bitcoin and other altcoins again.
The next few years could be massive for travel and cryptocurrency, and it's looking like a very positive situation for all involved.
