The future is next gen currencies, not Bitcoin, temtum

Bitcoin is still not suited to mainstream adoption and it will be next generation currencies that push things forward, according to temtum Founder and Senior Cryptography Advisor, Richard Dennis.

Dennis was speaking as a group of retailers, including Whole Foods and Nordstrom, started to accept cryptocurrencies in physical stores. "The volatility, speed and transaction costs of crypto have scared merchants from accepting crypto over the past 18 months; the two extremes of highs and lows have been realised in what is actually a very short space of time,” he commented.

“Cryptocurrencies are part of a movement that will undoubtedly take time but small steps in the right direction are happening on a frequent basis, such as the developments we’ve seen with Spedn & Flexa, who will allow consumer purchases in crypto at major retailers and settlements in fiat for those merchants.”

But although this process will be cheaper than using existing payment networks, it still isn’t an instant and feeless transaction, he added. “Mainstream adoption doesn’t come in the form of integration with existing financial products. Although it’s certainly the right way to make progress, it will only be realised when merchants can settle their own transactions, peer to peer, feeless and instant.”

And this will happen when the next generation of currencies “come forward at speed into this industry”.