Bitcoin is by far the most popular and most prevalent of all cryptocurrencies. However, like any first-generation technology, it is not without its problems.

As time goes on, the weaknesses of a Bitcoin-driven approach to cryptocurrency become more evident. Not only is Bitcoin mining rapidly becoming a serious environmental concern, but the fabled decentralization that is so key to Bitcoin’s most ambitious goals is being sabotaged by market forces who are trying to bring its titanic mining industry gradually under their control.

An Alternative?

Nano is one of the many cryptocurrencies to emerge in the wake of Bitcoin. However, what sets Nano (XRB) apart form the rest of the competition, is that it is the first cryptocurrency solely designed to work like an actual currency. Because of this approach, Nano is not faced with many of Bitcoin’s problems, or indeed those of other cryptocurrencies.

A future in which Nano is widely accepted and utilized as a payment option looks much greener, and much more fruitful, than that promised by Bitcoin.

Cheaper Commerce

Using conventional payment methods, many small businesses are faced with unsustainable charges for processing transactions that use a credit or debit card. Clearly, it is impractical for any modern business to not accept these payment methods. But as it stands, these charges can eat into a sizeable chunk of a business’ profits.

Nano is a peer-to-peer decentralized currency. This means that there is no one other than the payment sender and receiver involved in each transaction.

For a merchant running their own business, this means that they can freely receive Nano payments without having to pay fees to anyone.

They have the option of running their own Nano node, to ensure reliable network performance, but this isn’t a requirement as Nano wallets themselves act as nodes.
Even if a merchant chooses to use a node, they can be set up and run for as little as $5 a month, sometimes less.
The costs here are for renting a server and installing the lightweight Nano node, and they are a fraction of what even a small business will spend on payment processing fees every month.

If you are a customer, paying with Nano will be just as easy as paying with an NFC-enabled bank card. The advantage with Nano is that the transaction will process immediately, so you can avoid the dreaded delay in a transaction being reflected in your bank balance.

Instantaneous Worldwide Payments

If you want to send money to someone in the same country as you today, this process is normally quite fast. If you are sending funds to someone who uses the same bank as you, this can happen instantaneously. But for many people, sending money from one bank to another, even within the same country, can take a couple of days to complete. (And that’s just for domestic transfers) If you want to send money internationally, you will have to contend with an even greater delay, and a number of fees levied by various financial institutions.

When you send Nano to another person, it doesn’t matter if they’re sitting next to you, or hanging out on the other side of the planet.

You transactions will always be near-instantaneous and feeless.
This makes Nano the perfect choice for making international payments.
Nano makes it viable to pay even very small amounts internationally. This could be a real game-changer for international commerce.

Whether you are sending or receiving an international payment, Nano offers significant improvements over conventional financial systems.

Small businesses would be able to consider outsourcing, and hiring workers who can work remotely from overseas, without having to worry about the additional costs involved in traditional international payments.
If you are a homeowner with bills to pay, whether they’re utility bills or tax bills, having an instantaneous payment method affords you much more flexibility when you need to make a payment.

Decentralization

As a truly decentralized peer-to-peer currency, Nano would allow people to turn their backs on the monolithic financial institutions which many have come to distrust. This decentralization would offer unprecedented freedom for businesses, individuals, and society as a whole.

One of the less-appreciated effects of this is that it would massively decrease bank fraud.

With no need for online banking accounts, and no central institution holding your money, fraudsters would no longer be able to impersonate your bank or try and gain access to your account.
Your private key grants access to your wallet should you lose it, this is the only piece of information relevant to your Nano wallet, and there is never a reason to share it.

Cryptocurrencies are undoubtedly here to stay. The promises they offer are hard to ignore, but just as hard to deliver on. With Nano, there is a realistic chance of achieving mass adoption and all the benefits that come with it.

What are your thoughts on Nano & the future of cryptocurrency payments?

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mineable_