RE: The problem in adapting cryptocurrency is the poor user experience
Yes fully agree, we are in a bit of an echo chamber here on Steemit, surrounded by enthusiasts so I also take the opinions of those I work with etc.
I'm working on a project at the project at the moment with about 80 people (making a TV show so not related to crypto or finance) and only 4 of those people have any exposure to crypto.
One guy bought a couple of Bitcoins just because he'd heard about it and thought it might be an investment opportunity but it doesn't really matter if he loses it all because he already owns 2 Ferraris (I'm not kidding). Two more bought £1000 of Bitcoin when it was at £10000 as a punt, they really don't want to lose it but again it wouldn't change their life. Their investment is sitting at around 60% of its value when bought so their experience hasn't been great but they will hold in the hope of one day it doubles and then they'll sell.
No.4 is me!
Now of those 4 I'm the only one who's got involved beyond a passing speculative interest and the rest have complained that the whole process is too complicated to get involved any further. Main complaint is not having the time.
Most of the rest are suspicious, which can and probably will change, but I know they will not have the inclination to set up multiple wallets, accounts on exchanges etc so that they can buy something on Amazon with bitcoin some day in the future. Not when they can just take out their card and pay with fiat.
Simplicity and functionality will be key in the future, its probably just around the corner but who knows?
Thanks for the long comment. Interesting to hear how people decide to put a thousand pounds and still don't really care. I think that is kind of the problem with people investing generally anyway.
As for simplicity and functionality, I know that it won't happen suddenly. I work in the field of user experience and to develop a proper experience, is a long process. However, it is of course possible some team with a new idea for a new crypto takes the field by surprise by having something no one expected, suddenly taking over the field faster than others can follow. Like what happened with iphone back in 2007, not that I'm a fan of iphone, but they did something unexpected back then.