Imagine the Possibilities of Bitcoin

According to bitcoincharts.com, around the world, there are currently 14 different currencies being traded for Bitcoin:

AUD - Australian Dollars
BGN - Bulgarian Lev
BRL - Brazilian Real
CAD - Canadian Dollars
CLP - Chilean Pesos
CNY - Chinese Yuan
EUR - Euros
GBP - British Pounds
INR - Indian Rupees
JPY - Japanese Yen
PLN - Polish Zloty
RUB - Russian Rubles
SAR - Saudi Arabian Riyals
USD - United States Dollars

Though many "financial experts" are quick to dismiss Bitcoin, the fact of the matter is, the infrastructure hasn't yet been constructed to take advantage of one of the biggest benefits of using Bitcoin: moving money internationally for next-to-nothing.

For the thousands of Filipino workers in Canada who send money home to support their families, a huge percentage of the money they earn is lost to transaction fees. A quick look at Western Union's fees, for example, shows that it would cost someone 10 CAD to send 100 CAD to the Philippines - an instant 10% loss!

In 2007, Mexicans sent 24 Billion USD back to Mexico.

Unfortunately for both Mexicans and Filipinos, there are no Bitcoin exchanges in their local currencies, so they're stuck paying immense fees to send money home.

Even if currencies are deposited into a Bitcoin exchange, converted to Bitcoins, sent to another exchange, and converted to another currency, the fees we're seeing charged by the major Bitcoin exchanges are a small fraction of the 10% charged by Western Union in the example above.

The very recent announcement of a Kenyan Bitcoin exchange is a signal to the world that a need exists in the developing world for a medium of exchange like Bitcoin. How many Kenyans work in the United States or Europe that have a hard time sending money home?

How far away are we from seeing Filipino and Mexican exchanges? I guarantee we'll see both in less than a year. Mexicans are searching for Bitcoin. Filipinos are searching for Bitcoin. The need is there. The demand is coming.

Give Bitcoin a chance to lay down some infrastructure, come back in a year, then check the value of a Bitcoin. Adios!