7 Ways You Can Use Crypto in Everyday Life
In the past, crypto was something that only the most tech-savvy of the online community used. Today, it’s a mainstream asset. Sure, it’s still not as liquid as fiat money or as great of a value save, but for an asset that exists for merely 15 years, it’s doing more than just fine.
Today, there are so many applications of crypto, some of which you have a chance to use in your everyday life.
Top 7 Ways You Can Use Crypto in Everyday Life
Here are the top seven such instances that you should be aware of.
1. Invest in Crypto
Investing is a way to help your money make you money. The reason why it’s so important is mostly because it gives you a way to multiply funds that would otherwise just lay in the bank account.
Now, there are a few reasons why investing in crypto is so simple. First, getting a crypto wallet is easy, and there are a few exchanges that are both massive and reputable.
In fact, the majority of traditional exchange apps are now including crypto tokens, which means that you don’t even have to go out of your way.
The best approach is to treat cryptos as if you were investing in stocks – diversify. Put most of your money into big, well-established cryptos, and all the rest can go toward one or two risky investments.
Even when you plan to make a risky investment, it needs to be data-based.
For instance, if you plan to invest in crypto, you should conduct an analysis of the next coins predicted to soar to see where your money stands the best odds at actually multiplying.
Finding a coin that will do as well as Bitcoin did is not going to be easy (and might not even be possible), but making a decision based on thorough research and choosing coins that aren’t likely to flop straightaway will always pay off.
2. Financial Transactions
The majority of people aren’t position trading. They’re not really buying crypto in hopes that it will become thousands of times more valuable than BTC did in 2017 (not that they would complain if it did).
Instead, these people are primarily concerned with their capacity to be used as an instrument of financial transactions.
Cryptocurrencies operate on a DeFi, which means that there are no institutions and intermediaries acting as a buffer between the two parties.
Now, since there is no infrastructure that is supported by fees, the fees are, on average, a lot lower.
Other than this, the transactions are speedier, and it’s worth mentioning that the anonymity serves as a huge bonus.
The fact that you don’t even have to give your real name in order to make a wallet (and start receiving money) is just out of this world.
This is one of the reasons more and more people decide to get paid this way.
3. Circumventing Financial Restrictions
Another use of cryptocurrencies is for circumventing all sorts of financial restrictions. Namely, if you want to send money abroad, you may have limited financial instruments available.
When it comes to crypto, all you need is a wallet and the person abroad (probably back at home) to make a wallet themselves.
This is one of the main reasons why cryptocurrencies are playing such a pivotal role in global remittances.
Not only are they easy to sell, but they’re also relatively easy to convert to cash. This won’t always be like that with other assets (like gift cards).
One more hidden perk of this is the fact that it has opened new markets for remote work.
Remote workers from a lot of regions struggled because they had trouble getting compensation for their work.
Well, with the help of crypto transactions, these financial restrictions are no longer as big of an issue.
4. Consumer Transactions
More and more vendors are adopting this as a potential payment method.
This means that you can buy goods using cryptocurrencies. In fact, it’s only a matter of time before you will be able to use your crypto wallet to pay at the hot dog cart.
The reason for a relatively slow adoption is of a cyclical nature. There’s a loop where a lot of vendors don’t accept crypto payments, which makes a lot of users think that this method of payment is just not worth it.
Then, vendors see that a lot of users are not requesting this method, which confirms their suspicions.
Fortunately, this cycle is easily broken. With greater popularity, this has become a topic that’s worth investing more thought into.
The conclusion is that it’s definitely worth it, especially since introducing it is really not expensive, and the maintenance is barely an inconvenience.
This means that vendors have a chance to get more attention from the audience that they would potentially miss out on.
5. Borrowing and Lending
Since more and more countries are regulating cryptocurrencies, they are now seen as valid assets. This means that you can even use it as collateral when securing credit.
This means that you can get approved for a secured loan. Just keep in mind that not all credit unions and banks will acknowledge this.
Another thing you need to consider is crypto P2P lending platforms. Here, you can borrow crypto, and if you have excess cash, you can lend it out and turn it into a passive stream of income.
Just keep in mind that while these platforms are gaining popularity, they’re still not as widespread as fiat P2P lenders.
This means that there are fewer lenders and borrowers. This method is also a bit riskier, but for the lender, this only makes it more profitable.
While this may not be the most common use of crypto, having one more option is never a negative thing.
6. Utility Coins
There are a lot of coins that serve a specific purpose. For instance, some crypto is gatekeeping a certain service.
AI coins, for instance, are on-platform currency (like an in-game currency in a video game) that you can use to pay for various services.
Quite often, you get free use of certain features, but when you actually use these free features, the rest can only be unlocked via these coins.
This means that if you want to use the platform or just the features (instead of paying for a full premium subscription), you’ll need these coins.
The best thing about these coins is that they’re gatekeeping, an essential service.
This is what makes them so incredible since the potential for growth of that particular coin depends on the usefulness of the service in question.
7. Smart Contracts
Cryptocurrencies are more than just financial tokens used in online exchanges. Thanks to their blockchain and DeFi nature, some of these tools are used as smart contracts.
These are decentralized protocols whose purpose is to perform an action automatically once the conditions are met.
A transfer on a particular date or unlocking funds upon delivery will trigger these protocols.
Now, the truth is that you’re using these protocols on a daily basis without even realizing it. Moreover, this is one technology that’s bound to grow in the near future.
Not only that, but the underlying technology of blockchain is becoming evermore present. A lot of platforms are already using it, and this trend is picking up at an astounding pace.
In 2024, Crypto is Already an Asset for Everyday Use
Sure, a lot of people still haven’t had a chance to use crypto.
However, one thing remains true – everyone can find themselves in a position where crypto can be useful, and everyone can find a use for crypto.
As the number of useful instances increases, a wider and wider portion of the population will feel tempted to actually give it a try.