Crypto Payments: The New Tap-and-Go? Pulsar’s Social Spin
Could crypto payments one day be as ubiquitous as swiping your debit card at the checkout line? In a recent episode of The Clear Crypto Podcast, StarkWare’s Nathan Jeffay and Cointelegraph’s Gareth Jenkinson sat down with Stefana Banciu, growth lead at Pulsar Money, to discuss the company’s vision for making blockchain payments a mainstream reality.
The conversation delved into the question that many in the crypto world are pondering: why aren’t crypto payments more widely adopted for everyday transactions? While low fees and borderless transfers are touted as key benefits, Banciu argues that onboarding the next wave of users requires a more intuitive, social, and even entertaining approach.
Pulsar’s Social Payments Module: Fun and Functionality
Pulsar’s unique selling point lies in its “social payments module,” which allows users to send crypto directly through X, simply by tagging a handle. This feature, Banciu believes, is a crucial step towards making transactions feel more like communication than banking.
“You can actually send funds directly on Twitter,” Banciu explains. “This is a cool use case to showcase people that yes, with crypto payments you can actually have super seamless, easy and convenient payments.”
However, Banciu acknowledges that convenience alone isn’t enough to attract the masses. “We all know within the crypto space, the whole community that is here for perhaps something else than payments, which is quite boring, right?” she says. “So we said, OK, why not think of a way to onboard users, make them do payments in a fun way?”
Beyond the Tech: Making Crypto Cool
While crypto’s core principles are undeniably powerful, making them relatable and engaging for everyday users is a critical challenge. For Jenkinson, making crypto usable as a true “medium of exchange” is essential to its legitimacy. “If we’re not using cryptocurrencies as a medium of exchange, then it’s not solving one of the core characteristics that makes money, money.”
Pulsar’s approach underscores the need to bridge the gap between crypto’s technological promise and its real-world application. By integrating fun and social features into its platform, Pulsar aims to make crypto payments as easy and as enjoyable as sending a meme, potentially paving the way for greater mainstream adoption.
The conversation highlights the ongoing debate within the crypto space – are we still too early in the game for crypto to become a truly ubiquitous form of payment? Or is the next wave of innovation, driven by companies like Pulsar, poised to finally unlock the potential of blockchain beyond just financial transactions? Only time will tell, but Pulsar’s vision certainly points towards a future where crypto payments are as seamless and fun as sending a quick message to a friend.
