We’re doing some user research with people who cash out remittances, and it’s been interesting on how you need to change a mindset. I think all of us Bitcoiners, we changed that mindset. It took us a long time, but we changed that mindset. So how can we change the mindset for millions of people in one shot?
For example, we created a mock bitcoin wallet and we were showing it to people who heard the cash out remittances. They received remittances and converted it to cash and one of the first things that came up is, the first pieces of feedback was like, “Hey, I don’t have to create an account here? Like I don’t have to put in my email and password?”
That was surprising. They were like, “Oh, I’m not sure I want to use it because I don’t trust it.” Because they’re used to creating an account just like a bank account, like a Facebook.
P: Oh, wow. That’s so interesting. Wait, so just repeat that.
Cordon: That was surprising.
P: I wanna make sure I understand what you’re saying. You’re saying that because people are so used to being KYC’ed (following know-your-customer regulations to give personal information), which I view as like a crime, the fact that when somebody wants to engage with financial services, they must fully dox themselves to whatever services they’re using. You’re saying that because your users didn’t have to do that, they were like, “I don’t know if I can trust this financial act.
Cordon: Exactly. Exactly.
P: Wow! Man, that is fucked up.
Cordon: It is. That’s what I’m talking about, like changing a mental model. Because a lot of people who receive remittances probably didn’t get a high school education or college or anything.
They’re used to creating an account. Most of them have a Facebook account or a Twitter account. “Any new service that I’m gonna use, I need to create an account for.” That’s the logical sort of reasoning and when you say, “Hey, you can just use it, receive bitcoin, you don’t have to create an account,” they’re like, “Uh, wait a minute, what is this?”
That was an interesting thing, so we’re thinking about how we can educate the user to break those paradigms that bitcoin enables. Those are the things. It’s more things that have to change sort of in people’s psyche or mentality or the way that they’ve been used to consume internet-based services into how Bitcoin works.
