People often wonder whether cryptocurrencies could have real use cases besides being investment vehicles understood by a few. And the answer is yes. Some crypto idealists believe cryptocurrencies could help bring people together and foster local economies. In all honesty, it is not a crazy idea. When you remove speculation and volatility, cryptocurrencies are simply great. Let us elaborate.
Some people believe that cryptocurrencies are for affluent society members only. However, others argue that cryptocurrencies can benefit the entire population, including poor people in developing countries. While there is no evidence cryptocurrencies can help alleviate world poverty, it is undeniable some local economies can benefit from these digital assets.
Cryptocurrencies could change the situation of unbanked people living in isolated villages in Africa or poor urban communities in the United States without access to credits or other financial products. Below we review some possible use cases of cryptocurrencies in local economies that may help disadvantaged communities and individuals.
Enabling the Unbanked to Save Funds
It is well-known that people in marginalized communities often lack access to banking services despite banks’ efforts to expand their reach. Cryptocurrencies allow the unbanked population to save funds and store value securely. Getting a crypto wallet is not complicated since some are available on the Internet for free. Once a person has a wallet, buying cryptocurrencies is straightforward.
Exchanges such as LetsExchange.io allow buying cryptocurrencies with fiat money, which can be stored securely in a wallet. People in marginalized zones can thereby save funds and even increase the value of their savings over time. Since access to the Internet has risen dramatically, even in developing countries, the use of cryptocurrencies has also increased. No wonder Bitcoin is a popular payment method in several Latin American countries.
Improving Capital Flow
In many developing countries, there are restrictions on capital flow in and out of their borders. Hence, some people in those countries have problems receiving money from abroad or sending it. Because of their decentralized nature, cryptocurrencies enable all remittances without censorship. In principle, governments cannot control the flow of these digital assets over borders.
Lowering Transaction Costs
Traditional banks and other financial institutions often charge high fees for their services. For marginalized people, those fees for transferring money are prohibitive. Most cryptocurrencies eliminate the need for third parties in transactions because of their P2P nature, lowering overall costs.
Hedging Savings against Inflation
In most developing countries, poor economic conditions lead to unstable currencies. Citizens of those countries cannot retain the value of their savings and other assets because of inflation and economic instability. Hence, many prefer to keep their savings in stable currencies like the US dollar. But it is not possible for unbanked people. Cryptocurrencies help to solve this problem by offering an effective hedge against inflation and economic turmoil.
Celo Makes Cryptocurrencies Available to Smartphone Users
Celo is a blockchain project aiming to make cryptocurrencies available to everyone, including those without access to traditional banking services. The core idea of this project is to use phone numbers as public keys, thereby simplifying the payment process with cryptocurrencies. This way, users can send and receive crypto using their smartphones.
The rationale of this project is that smartphones are ubiquitous and well-understood by the population. In many marginalized communities around the world, there are no landline phones. People in those places rely on smartphones to communicate with their relatives and access the Internet. Hence, Celo hopes to introduce billions of smartphone owners to transact in cryptocurrency.
This project has a native token, CELO, used for transaction fees and governance. The Celo platform also issues three stablecoins, namely the Celo Dollar (CUSD), the Celo Euro (CEUR), and the Celo Brazilian Real (CREAL). The platform supports the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps).
Key metrics of the CELO token as of November 15, 2022, are summarized in the table below.
Celo (CELO) Price Prediction for 2024
According to PricePrediction, the CELO average price in 2024 will be $1, potentially climbing to $1.15. For its part, CoinPriceForecast predicts a maximum price of $1.1 toward the end of 2024, representing an increase of +148% compared to the current price.
Celo (CELO) Price Prediction for 2025
In 2025, CELO will trade at $1.4 on average, according to PricePrediction. This token’s price could reach $1.71. CoinPriceForecast has a more conservative prediction, with a maximum price of $1.32 by the end of 2025.
Celo (CELO) Price Prediction for 2030
In the long run, CELO will increase its price dramatically. PricePrediction expects a CELO average price of $9.3 in 2030, possibly climbing to $10.8. TechNewsLeader has a more optimistic prediction, with an average and maximum price of $15.6 and $18.4 by the end of 2030, respectively.
Summary
Cryptocurrencies can benefit the world’s population at large, including the disadvantaged population without access to banking and financial services. One of the projects aiming to make cryptocurrencies available to everyone is Celo. Although this project has not gained mainstream acceptance yet, it has become quite popular among crypto users. CELO, the project’s native token, has great potential as an investment vehicle for the coming years.
FAQs
How high can CELO go?
Nobody knows, but an optimistic price prediction expects CELO to trade at a maximum of $25.7 in 2031.
Is CELO a good investment?
So far, this token has been a decent investment. Price predictions suggest this token could perform well in the coming years, making it a good long-term investment.
Disclaimer
Please keep in mind that the above information is based exclusively on our observations and is provided for informational purposes only. It doesn’t constitute any kind of financial advice nor represents an official forecast. Cryptocurrency is a highly volatile asset, and you are investing in it at your own risk.
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