Cryptocurrencies Will Become Part Of Daily Transactions, Say Exchange Founders

Cryptocurrencies will slowly “roll into” fiat currencies and be increasingly used in day-to-day life for common purchases, according to the founders of Hayvn, a new digital currency trading and custody platform aimed at institutional investors.

In an interview with Arabian Business, Hayvn co-founder Christopher Flinos said that the world “is not far off” from a day in which digital currencies form an integral part of daily transactions.

“I think [cryptocurrencies] will be linked to your account,” he said. “You may soon have the option to have Bitcoin, for example, linked to your current or savings account. When you touch and pay, you’ll have the option to pay in Bitcoin and have it deducted off. You’ll slowly see this integration.”

In his remarks, Flinos compared the current state of cryptocurrencies and their volatility over the last two years to the early days of the Internet “tech boom” and the subsequent crash around the year 2000.

“Over time, it’ll just come back,” he said. “We think cryptocurrencies will become as common as e-mail. We think it will be integrated more and more into the existing financial system. It’s not going to be stranger retailers willing to sell an apartment, for example, paid in Bitcoin.

“We don’t see it as an anarchic overturn. It’s a slow adaptation. One day you’ll realise you just went a whole day and paid everything in digital currency.”

Hayvn co-founder and CEO Ahmed Ismail added that digital currencies have been bolstered by government recognition of their potential uses.

As an example, he pointed to the ‘Aber’ project recently announced by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) and UAE Central Bank to establish a common digital currency.

“It shows that governments are finally catching on to the huge benefits. The technology underpinning digital currency is the future of the Internet. It’s a natural evolution,” he said.

“Credit to SAMA and the UAE Central Bank for actually taking that step and being forward looking. It gives credibility to the space and we welcome it with open arms.”