Bitcoin has potential, and this has been echoed by most analysts across the entire crypto and financial market. Despite this, one thing that has dampened the asset usage across all spheres is the volatility in the market. Volatility is clearly when a particular asset fails to follow a path for a long time.
Taking Bitcoin as an example, the digital asset hit its highest price ever of $58,000 some weeks back before going on to see double digits loss to trade around $45,000. Backing this up, the Vice chairman of MasterCard, Ann Cairns, has pointed out the reason why major investments are not using it as a medium of making payments.
Cairns cited volatility as a major drawback
In a statement that was reported by news outlet MarketWatch, the Vice chairman mentioned that Bitcoin could not be used as a means of payment because of the increased volatility in the market. Going further, she also cited other issues like the time it takes to confirm a transaction. Even though she mentioned that there were planning to include stablecoins in their payments and talk with some entities, Cairns mentioned that Bitcoin could only be seen as a store of value, just like precious metal, gold.
Giving a real-life scenario, she mentioned that if you go to a cafe to get a drink and you decide to pay with Bitcoin, you will be delayed about 40% of the time due to either the price no longer worth what you bought, or time it is taking to get confirmed. Backing up stablecoins, she mentioned that they suffer less volatility compared to Bitcoin. This is because most of these stablecoins are usually pegged to fiat currencies, usually the dollar, and it means that they are worth $1 or something close at every point in time.
MasterCard wants to release support for stablecoins
With things like this, users would be able to spend stablecoins and even keep it as reserve cash in their wallets. A previous update pointed out that MasterCard was planning to roll out support for some specific digital assets, and the investments company is looking to stablecoins. “Our partners would be able to convert the select stablecoins to cash and will also be able to use them to pay for whatever they buy,” the firm said.
The firm also pointed out that they are opening the floor for their merchants to accept digital assets by supporting them with digital assets. MasterCard also said that supporting stablecoins would end the constant need to convert digital assets to cash.
It mentioned that merchants can now accept the dollar equivalent of their goods and services in crypto and either choose to maintain it or sell it and get paid in dollars. Notably, Bitcoin has seen its uses limited by specific factors, including those mentioned above but would still get the nod to enter any investments wallets.
