- Matt Hamilton commented on tourists’ complaints about the huge fees to convert BTC to fiat
- He thinks the XRP Ledger is a much better fit for microtransactions
- Commission spike on Bitcoin network caused by popularization of BRC-20-based tokens
The popularization of Ordinals and BRC-20-based tokens caused a spike in commissions on Bitcoin network.
Earlier this week, the average value of the indicator exceeded $19. Because of this, BTC microtransactions are rapidly losing relevance.
And, of course, this did not affect consumers in the best way. In El Salvador, for example, the commission for converting BTC into fiat reaches 20%.
In other words, from $100 you have to pay at least $20. And this despite the fact that the average salary in the country does not exceed $300-$350.
This was pointed out by journalist Marcel Romero, who is currently in El Salvador. He was supported by Arnold Hubach, co-founder of BitcoinFocusNL..
He paid almost 1 euro commission for the price of two cups of coffee at 6.6 euros.
Romero’s publication was also commented on by former Ripple communications director Matt Hamilton.
He advised using a “more appropriate technology,” such as XRP Ledger, for small payments.
In his opinion, Bitcoin does not scale in any way. These restrictions significantly inhibit the acceptance of the asset as a means of payment.
Since bitcoin was legalized, tourism in El Salvador has grown by 95 percent. Many vacationers come here precisely because of the ability to pay for services and products in cryptocurrency.
But current problems in the Bitcoin ecosystem are preventing the use of the token for microtransactions.
Delays in transfer processing and high fees make bitcoin unprofitable when it comes to paying for a cup of coffee.