The introduction of the Volta credit card has been very timely. It is not just that it offers you as a crypto investor a chance to go beyond merely trading assets to being able to spend them; it is that the number of opportunities to spend has been rising and may soon expand to the point where it becomes almost as mainstream as the fiat currencies we all know.
For the time being, the card is geared up specifically to take advantage of those sectors that have been ahead of the rest in accepting crypto as payment, a prime example being hotels, where we have recognised the growing use of this means of payment by negotiating discounts and deals with many chains, including Hilton, Sheraton and Waldorf Astoria.
However, while a couple of years ago crypto spending was mainly confined to top-end hotels and other luxury goods like expensive cars and watches, the opportunities have increased. That has partly been made possible by facilities such as the instant conversion of crypto into fiat currency Volta card offers, but it is also expanding in another, exciting way.
Why Growth Is Unstoppable
As an article in Business Matters highlights, there appears to be unstoppable momentum towards crypto becoming mainstream as a method of payment.
Firstly, it noted, there are countries where crypto already become accepted as legal currency, with Bitcoin being adopted in some countries (firstly El Salvador, then The Central African Republic).
With the approval in the US of Bitcoin and Ethereum for exchange traded funds earlier this year, Business Matters predicted it is “a matter of time” before Crypto goes mainstream.
As the article noted, some advanced economies, not least the UK, has approached such developments cautiously. This has included a lot of regulation instituted by the Financial Conduct Authority to protect investors (now amounting to one in ten UK adults), but the government has also instructed the Treasury to consider launching its own digital currency.
Indeed, progress is clearly being made and it may be that the cautious but curious approach by the last government will be continued by the new one, perhaps while recognising that the growth of crypto is now irreversible. As YouGov surveys have shown, a growing number of people have invested in crypto and very few are now unaware of it.
Growth In Business Use
The article continued by listing the large and growing range of firms that are accepting crypto payments, which includes hotels and luxury goods but also Fintech. Perhaps it is no surprise that the tech sector should be in the vanguard, as it will understand just what is involved in establishing, managing and safeguarding digital currencies.
Concluding the article, Business Matters said that despite some remaining issues with regulation and market volatility, “the benefits of adopting digital currencies – like lower transaction costs, quicker payments, and access to international markets – make them too good to pass up”.
For this reason, it declared, businesses that adopt crypto will gain significant advantages over their competitors as the “legal landscape” changes and the technology used by crypto becomes more advanced.
Opportunities For Volta Card Holders
All this makes things very exciting for Volta Card holders. Firstly, it means that here in the UK, the number of crypto transactions you can make is set to grow, especially on a B2B level. At the same time, if it is happening in a country where there has been some caution and even suspicion about crypto, the same will apply in many other jurisdictions too.
Moreover, the fact that some companies will enthusiastically adopt crypto as payment means they will be delighted when this is justified by a growing number of transactions take place by this means.
However, these are not always going to happen as a matter of course; as with our hotel deals, vendors may offer a range of discounts and other benefits to encourage crypto payments. In doing so, they will enjoy the benefits of being able to offer customers choices in payment methods, one of the ways they can steal a march on their rivals.
This win-win scenario will translate into more benefits for you, more opportunities to pay with crypto and, as a result, you can build up more reward points on your card.
Of course, there may be some very different situations around the world as you travel; clearly a trip to El Salvador will be an interesting visit for those with Bitcoin in their digital wallet, while there are some places in which crypto is not recognised or regulated.
In the latter case, of course, it is worth remembering that the Volta Card contains the flexibility to cope with situations where crypto payments are not yet available, by converting it into the local fiat currency.