This year, the use and acceptance of cryptocurrencies have experienced brisk expansion, especially in developing and under-developed regions like Latin America and Africa. Clouded by hyperinflation, decades of political and economic problems, feeble national currencies, and scarcity of traditional financial services, young populations within these regions with access to smartphones and the internet are playing a critical role in driving the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies.
With the El Salvador government accepting bitcoin (BTC) as a legal tender, there has been an increased demand for decentralized financial (DeFi) opportunities for BTC users, especially layer-2 scaling solutions that help extend the capabilities of the Bitcoin network. Following El Salavador’s decision, BTC acceptance has surged across developing countries, including Ghana, Kenya, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Peru, and others.
As a result of this unprecedented growth, cryptocurrency projects and protocols are increasingly introducing support for real-world use cases, emphasizing ease of use. From highly-regulated trading exchanges to underlying blockchain protocols, groundbreaking platforms are rapidly shrinking the accompanying adoption obstacles.
The outcome is greater mainstream financial services accessibility for global unbanked and under-banked populations, not to mention opportunities to generate income via a range of DeFi products and solutions.
Mainstreaming Crypto By Bridging The Real-World Gap
CoinZoom, a US-based cryptocurrency exchange, is one of the most prominent names spearheading the efforts to build an open and inclusive decentralized financial ecosystem. Besides being a highly regulated exchange operating in more than 140 countries, CoinZoom also offers several crypto-centric features that make lives easier for the global population.
As a crypto exchange, CoinZoom is suitable for both experienced and new traders, and its suite of connected products adds immense value for users. A range of CoinZoom Visa cards supports crypto payments across 53 million merchant stores worldwide. At the same time, the accompanying CoinZoom Earn feature allows users to earn up to 20% APY on their crypto savings accounts, far outstripping interest-bearing bank accounts. Moreover, the ZoomMe remittance service helps members to send and receive both fiat and cryptocurrencies across the globe for no fees.
Another project on a mission to bring a positive change in the African region is Jelurida, a Swiss blockchain company that enables enterprises to develop decentralized applications (dApps) using its Nxt, Ardor, and Ignis blockchains. Jelurida’s ecosystem offers public, private, and hybrid blockchain solutions designed to solve real-world problems.
Since its inception, the platform has facilitated experimentation of several promising real-world blockchain projects like HotCity, Cycle4Value, and TreeCycle. As the use of digital currencies develops across Africa, Jelurida Africa DLT, an offshoot of the Swiss firm Jelurida, has engaged in prelaunch project testing and other goals ahead of additional expansion to a larger number of African nations. Jelurida Africa aims to assist established companies, start-ups, and individuals to understand blockchain technology and provide consultancy, education, and top-notch solution deployments.
Last but not least, RSK (Rootstock) is a smart contracts solution built on the Bitcoin network. With El Salvador legalizing bitcoin, the demand for protocols that enable businesses to support real-world use cases on the network has reached an all-time high. RSK, with its suite of products and features, brings Ethereum’s smart contracts functionality on the Bitcoin network while ensuring industry-grade security, faster transactions per second (TPS), and lower gas costs.
Leveraging RKS, Kripton Market, an online marketplace focused on offering products and services to bitcoin users in El Salvador and other regions. With RSK, Krypton Market has launched a campaign across El Salvador to educate merchants and the general public about crypto’s real-world use cases and benefits. Other RSK-based solutions like Beexo, Money on Chain (MOC), Defiant, and Tropykus Finance will also participate in this campaign.
The Kripton Market is currently being used by 150 stores, with an additional 564 stores expected to join as part of a software update with Procom and Innovacion y Desarrollo. Also, every supporter will contribute to bitcoin’s utility in El Salvador, whether it is through sending payments, paying for goods and services, QR code transactions, or door-to-door shipments.