This is an opinion editorial by Ray Yusuf, CEO of Paxful and cofounder of the Built With Bitcoin Foundation.
While bitcoin adoption continues to grow around the world, education remains one of our biggest challenges. Financial literacy should be a right, but in many places around the world people are denied – or worse, misinformed. But how do you deal with a topic like bitcoin? In my experience, it is the one-on-one connection that has made the strongest impact.
It Starts With Trust
The foundation of any good relationship starts with trust. I learned this at a very young age. When I was a kid working at my parents’ newsstands in New York City, I often encountered clients from all walks of life and had to navigate how I approached each situation. In order to give customers what they need, I realized that I can only do this by listening to them. This job taught me patience and empathy, which allowed me to quickly understand customer problems and find solutions to help them.
When I started Paxful in 2015, I took most customer service calls. I will never forget the first call I took from a frantic customer who found my cell phone number on our website. She was from Louisiana and told me she was being evicted from her apartment because she was overdue on rent. This was an unbanked American woman who had never had a bank account and never wanted an account, but she needed to buy an ad with bitcoins to sell some stuff to meet her needs. I taught her that if she could buy a gift card for a small amount she could convert it to bitcoin. Twenty minutes later he called back, gift card in hand, and I walked him through the process. Our conversation lasted for about two hours, but by the end she was doing her first transaction.
A few days later, we started getting hundreds of calls. We guided nearly a thousand people through our site, and our merchants were scrambling to fill orders around the world. While global bitcoin adoption begins and ends with education – education is nothing without patience, trust and good customer service.
banking on our community
During my bitcoin journey, I have met some incredible people who are working to enhance education and drive change around the world. People like activist Farida Nabourema, who is fighting for democracy in the country of Togo, the Suleiman brothers who are empowering their community in Nigeria with bitcoin and Kal Kasa who spread knowledge about bitcoin in secluded areas like Ethiopia. An interesting story comes from Paco de la India – a man who has made it his mission to stay primarily away from bitcoin, visiting 40 countries in 400 days. Throughout his journey, he has been spreading widespread awareness about bitcoin. He educates strangers on the street and hosts events for communities, encouraging people to use bitcoin to reach financial freedom. It is stories like de la India that remind us how small acts can bring about great change.
bottom-up approach
The key to global bitcoin adoption stems from a bottom-up approach. That’s why at Paxful, we’ve put most of our time on the ground – meeting with users, hosting workshops and organizing campus tours. My experience has taught me that you should never underestimate the power of human connection. It is only with education, patience and understanding that we can reach mass adoption and provide equal access to finance to anyone, anywhere.
This is a guest post by Ray Yusuf. The opinions expressed are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.