Cryptocurrency is still a relatively new type of currency and there are major differences to how we traditionally think of money. For example, it is almost exclusively a virtual currency as opposed to traditional currency used everyday in the form of coins or banknotes. Additionally, cryptocurrencies are not issued by a government or central bank.
These elements led to big potential advantages in international travel. First, travelers can avoid costly foreign exchange fees. Secondly, travelers can potentially avoid wild exchange fluctuations in countries with unstable currency.
All these qualities gives crypto some real appeal for international travelers. Specifically, younger generations are embracing the advantages of cryptocurrency. As a result, more travel suppliers are starting to accept bitcoin, ethereum, dogecoin and other popular cryptocurrencies.
ISEG Research Fellow Siyu Wang Offers Insights into Cryptocurrency in new USA Today article
On September 3, 2021, Christopher Elliott quoted Dr. Siyu Wang, Research Fellow of the Institute for the Study of Economic Growth (ISEG), as a behavioral economics expert. Dr. Wang gave key insights and advice on traveling with cryptocurrency in “Yes, you can book travel with bitcoin and other cryptocurrency – but should you?” in USA Today.
Excerpt:
Cryptocurrencies also offer some price stability in countries where currencies are unstable.
“Crypto payment can also potentially help travelers avoid fluctuating exchange rates,” explains Siyu Wang, an assistant professor of economics at the Institute for the Study of Economic Growth at Wichita State University.
But while countries like El Salvador have embraced cryptocurrencies, others have banned them. Algeria, Bolivia, China, Egypt, Nepal and Vietnam don’t allow you to use Bitcoin for your purchases, according to Wang. And it’s currently a gray area in countries like Russia and Pakistan, where it isn’t banned but it isn’t accepted as payment, either.
Read the whole article at USA Today.
