A Look at the Adaptation of Crypto Payments with Worldwide Brands

Cryptocurrency has actually already been around for quite some time. The thing is that it was such an esoteric concept and framework that only especially tech-savvy people were interested at all. And even then, it was only a very small sub-group among those especially tech-savvy individuals who decided crypto -- mostly Bitcoin, but also other alternatives like Litecoin and even Dogecoin -- was worthy of an investment.

But in the last couple of years, cryptocurrency has really exploded onto the scene, so much so that regular folk and traditional companies can't help but to take notice. That being said, crypto can still feel like such an esoteric and confusing subject that can also feel so separate from real world applications. But that is changing too and crypto payments are being adapted such that they really do serve as a viable (and arguably more appealing) alternative to more traditional payment methods.

Cryptocurrency and Fiat Money

Before we dive deeper into how this all plays out in today's real world, we must first take a couple steps back to consider what money really means. You have to remember that the earliest forms of trade were based purely on the barter system. I'll trade my sack of fish for your beaver pelt. But what if I don't want a beaver pelt and I want something else?

This eventually led to commodity money, like gold and silver coins. The coins themselves have a recognized, intrinsic value and could be used as currency for trade. This way, the person you're trying to sell your sack of fish to doesn't actually have to have something you want. They just need gold or silver that you can then use to buy from someone else. This paved the way to modern fiat money where the currency itself doesn't have any intrinsic value of its own aside from what the government tells us it is worth. A $20 bill is worth $20, and not because of the material from which it's made or the ink that's been printed on it.

People who are skeptical of cryptocurrencies oftentimes bring up the argument that a "Bitcoin" isn't really "worth" anything in the real world, because it's not really tied to anything in the real world. But realistically speaking, neither is that $20 bill in your wallet. To help bridge the gap between an ethereal cryptocurrency and real world spending are services like Zeex, and by using services like Zeex, you can bypass fiat currency altogether.

More Mainstream Adoption

For quite some time, realistically speaking, the only way you could ever "spend" your cryptocurrency -- whether you bought it, invested in it, or mined it -- was to "cash" out and convert those digital coins into a standard currency like the Euro or the US dollar.

Times are changing and more and more mainstream companies are starting to accept them as payment. This is fueled largely because more and more of their customers have these coins on hand too and the ability to accept crypto as payment is still an advantage they can claim over most of their competitors.

For example, you can use your Bitcoin to buy a domain name at Namecheap. By contrast, GoDaddy and HostGator (to my knowledge) do not accept Bitcoin. All else being equal, if you've got Bitcoin to spend, you may be more inclined to go to Namecheap based on that simple fact alone. Adoption is increasing, but it's not really there yet.

Convenient Payments Today

What can you do in the meantime without getting dinged by all sorts of bank fees and other charges? There are a few places on the web where you can buy gift cards with Bitcoin, each with their respective strengths and weaknesses. When you've got a virtual gift card, which is effectively a corporate currency, that's almost as good as cash, except it is tied to a particular retailer.

A shining example of how this can be expertly deployed is with Zeex, which I mentioned earlier above. With Zeex, you are able to purchase a variety of gift cards using your cryptocurrency, all without the need to convert to traditional fiat currency and all without paying unnecessary bank fees. A huge advantage here is that Zeex is a sister company of Zeek Group, which in turn provides Zeex users with ease access to some 350 major brands.

Simple Three Step Process

You can effectively convert your cryptocurrency to spend directly on Amazon, Ticketmaster, Gap, Xbox, Foot Locker, Starbucks, and more. What's more, when you purchase with Zix token, you can get the gift cards for less than their stated price, all with 0% fees, and the access level of a credit card with the privacy of crypto.
It's a simple three-step process:

1. Deposit crypto into the Zeex app.
2. Use the app to convert crypto into gift cards.
3. Buy on any shop associated with Zeex's gift cards.

Payment and delivery are validated simultaneously via the blockchain. Zeex leverages ECIES from the Ethererum platform so that purchasers can access their own private currency data even when it is still fully concealed from the public in the blockchain. Cryptocurrency is delivered into the real world securely and privately, empowering users to shop where they're already shopping.

Business that accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can benefit from this arrangement too, as they too can convert the Bitcoin they receive into gift cards: either their own or with a different seller. Again, this allows them to save on the bank fees associated with converting to fiat currency.

Decentralized, Automatic, Private

Cryptocurrency isn't going to replaced all of the world's fiat currency overnight. This can also be seen if you currently read through any of the trending news headlines on any of the top cryptocurrency blogs on the internet today. Nor should it, necessarily. But crypto payments are increasingly being adapted such that they are more relevant and more accessible to the general public who simply want to access these funds and spend them on products and services they already love and enjoy. But they also want to leverage all the advantages that crypto can deliver that conventional payments cannot.

To learn more about this quickly evolving trend, read the extensive whitepaper on the subject by Zeex. There's a ton of very insightful and useful information in there.