Moving countries, whether in good times or bad, is never easy. What doesn’t help is the fact that traditional financial institutions haven’t made this process easier, making migration a little bit harder for people looking to improve their current situation.
Thankfully, Bitcoin (BTC) has shown to be effective in its goals; particularly with how it’s meant to benefit the people, not the market.
Why should migrants use Bitcoin?
So why Bitcoin? After all, aren’t there other solutions to the current problem?
The main reason why Bitcoin is ideal for migrants is because of the way it was designed. By giving more people accessibility, they can participate in any kind of transaction without the hindrances of traditional banking. Anyone can jump on their phone and create an account right now on Paxful and start buying Bitcoin for their expenses.
And that’s where Bitcoin’s advantage stems from—accessibility. Instead of making migrants’ lives more difficult by adding barriers to entry, Bitcoin can empower individuals by tearing them down, giving them complete access to their monetary assets.
What also helps is the introduction of a new layer that stacks on top of Bitcoin’s blockchain called the Lightning Network. This has helped with Bitcoin’s utility since people can now use Bitcoins for transactions faster and cheaper than before.
Let’s break down five reasons why migrants should use Bitcoin and see how it can have an impact on your life.
Quick-and-easy remittance
Some migrants might have family left in their home country they need to support; sometimes, it’s the other way round. In any case, Bitcoin remittance becomes a great option to provide support from far away. Sending money to loved ones via Bitcoin has been known to help make remittances easier, faster, and even cheaper.
To send remittance using Bitcoin,, both the sender and recipient need to create a Paxful account. As soon as they complete the registration, they’ll receive a free Bitcoin wallet. After that, the sender should convert the money by buying Bitcoin (BTC) through any of the 350+ payment methods available. Once they’ve done so, the sender can then transfer the BTC to the recipient’s wallet via their wallet address.
Once the recipient has received the Bitcoin, they’ll only need to convert their BTC back into whatever currency suits them. From the Paxful home page, choose Sell Bitcoin and find a buyer that fits the recipient’s needs. As before, they can choose to convert their BTC through any of the 450+ payment methods.
Wealth preservation
Inflation can be a real problem for migrants, especially those who are leaving due to national crises. Instead of keeping their money in local banks where it is liable to lose value as the country’s currency plummets, converting fiat into Bitcoin is looking to be the more secure choice.
Bitcoin has become a popular option for people looking to keep their money somewhere safe because its value can be preserved or even improved—a welcome advantage over traditional financial institutions. Simply expecting earnings from one’s savings is not as efficient as it used to be, especially if inflation and low-interest rates are factored in.
Easier travel
What could help in any situation where you are traveling is having your money ready whenever you need it. That’s to make sure that you’ll be ready to pay for something when you have to. This can cause problems though since traveling with a lot of cash can be more than a little risky.
In these situations, having your money in BTC might help. As long as you can access your BTC wallet, you can easily convert Bitcoin into fiat money or gift cards that you can use for air travel, food, or even clothes. Bitcoin has been growing in popularity, giving businesses more confidence in having payments made with BTC.
Getting better forex rates
Immigration doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be traveling directly to your destination right away. Sometimes, long-distance flights will involve significant layovers which means travelers will have to convert their money, losing a lot of it through conversion fees.
This is where Bitcoin comes into play. By converting your travel money into Bitcoin, you can then easily convert it into the necessary currency with a few taps on your phone. This can drastically reduce your overall expenses since you’ll be minimizing the fees you have to pay.
Transparent fundraising
Sending monetary help to any person or even a country in need is a respectable act, but one that can be taken advantage of. Besides that, before the money collected ends up in the right hands, numerous transfer and processing fees might take a huge chunk out of your donation.
For this reason, fundraisers have been using Bitcoin as an alternative method for those who want to send help. After all, wallet-to-wallet transfers on platforms like Paxful are totally free, meaning all the money you intended to send over will be accessed by the recipient.
An added benefit is that the recipient will be able to use this BTC for anything they need, be it for food or medical assistance for the refugees.
How you can get started
With over 450 payment methods, Paxful allows you to convert your BTC easily and transfer it into your fiat bank account or convert it into gift cards you can use. Let’s take a look at how you can easily get started with Bitcoin.
First, you’ll need an account. Head on over to Paxful’s homepage to create an account—you’ll be given access to a free Bitcoin wallet when you do. If you already have an account, don’t forget to verify it to unlock more perks. Once you’re logged in, navigate to the home page and choose Bitcoin as the currency you want to buy. Take some time browsing the available payment methods to find the perfect one for your needs. Input how much BTC you want to buy and set a budget if necessary. Click on Find Offers once you’re done.
On the next page, you’ll find all the offers relevant to your search, so take the time to read the details of each one. If you want to narrow your options down, even more, you can use the filters available on the sidebar. If you find an offer that fits your needs, click on Buy to view it in more detail.
Once you’ve settled on an offer, click on Buy now. This will take you to a chatbox where you can finalize the transaction with the BTC vendor. Make sure to follow their instructions for a seamless trade. After fulfilling your part of the agreement, mark the trade as Paid. The vendor will have to first verify the receipt of the transfer then, once they do, the BTC held in Paxful’s escrow will automatically be transferred to your wallet.
Don’t forget to leave a review for the vendor once the deal is finished. This will help other buyers (and the vendor) in future trades. Now, you can send BTC free from wallet to wallet. From there, all the recipient has to do is convert that BTC into fiat money by selling it on the platform.
To do that, navigate to the home page of Paxful and select Sell in the toolbar on top. Select your preferred payment method and indicate how much BTC you want to sell. The rest will proceed similar to buying where you can narrow down options with similar filters available on the sidebar. For instant conversions, make sure to choose an offer from a recently active account.
It should be emphasized that you can choose from over 450 different payment methods when selling your BTC. This makes it easy for anyone to get what they need from BTC, whether it be fiat currencies or gift cards.
Empowerment through financial accessibility
What all this shows us is that Bitcoin really is meant to give people more access to the money that they own. It’s a different experience coming from traditional financial institutions, which is why self-conducted research is highly promoted in the Bitcoin community. At the end of the day, the benefits are available to us—all we need to do is to grab the opportunity.
