TravelbyBit

TravelbyBit: Helping to Spread the Crypto Thunder Down Under The fine people of Australia are grabbing what they can from the likes of Bitcoin, NEM, Litecoin, and other cryptos, and stuffing them in their hard crypto related pouches like a mother kangaroo protecting her children. And though this practice of hoarding cryptocurrencies is taking place around the globe, one Australian based business is attempting to get people to do something that, at least at this time, seems counter intuitive. TravelbyBit is asking you to spend it. Launching their product just six short months ago, Co-founders Caleb Yeoh and Shireen Yip share a vision of getting the crypto community to start using cryptocurrencies as they were intended. In any normal business model, six months may not seem like a long time to see a significant impact. But to anyone who has spent any substantial amount of time in crypto will tell you though, six months can seem like a decade. Caleb, an avid crypto enthusiast with an unquenchable desire to see mass adoption take place, embarks on a daily quest to provide the citizens of Australia and abroad the opportunity to pay for their adventures in Litecoin, Bitcoin, DASH, Ethereum and NEM/XEM. It is safe to say this is not only a passion for the Chief Executive Officer of TravelbyBit and his team, but also an adventure. Caleb Yeoh, TravelbyBit CEOTheir collective philosophy is that the only way to mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, both regionally and globally, is to provide user incentives. Caleb and his staff do this by negotiating retail discounts with businesses and support from coin foundations. In return they connect businesses directly to the crypto community. Sites like booking.com take a 20% cut. By connecting crypto users directly to travel businesses, Caleb and his team help cut out the middle man, create value for users, and provide a margin that keeps TravelbyBit sustainable. Convincing some merchants to ‘try it out’ for a while is one thing, but just not sustainable without customers who are willing to part with their coins. At some point, the coins consistently need to be spent in order to succeed. “Merchants have taken a leap of faith by coming onboard, but the question is will the community spend in crypto and leave their Visa and MasterCard bonus points behind? We are inviting the entire world to support a genuine use case of crypto through Travel by Bit,” states Caleb. ”Gaining mainstream user volume is the key to sustaining merchant adoption. This is the Catch 22 of crypto. Why spend it today when it will go up in value tomorrow? Every user believes the value of their currency will go up and instinctively it makes sense to HODL. This creates a feedback loop that prevents adoption and devalues the network because of the lack of genuine adoption.” So what better way to use digital currency than on vacation, right? At least, that is what TravelbyBit is hoping will help drive adoption in their neck of the Outback. After six months of pursuing this concept, the little company that could is creating some serious thunder. From Brisbane to Lady Musgrave Island, TravelbyBit is making their mark on the landscape of a continent known for millions of annual visitors through incentivizing merchants to participate. By using their platform, vacationers also avoid hefty exchange rates and negate the risk of credit card fraud. The most notable of these attempts is currently taking place in the Brisbane Airport, where TravelbyBit has joined forces with the Brisbane Airport Corporation. After five months of back and forth negotiations regarding this demonstration of new technology, Caleb and his team were able to create a stronghold in an airport that welcomes over 20 million domestic and international combined passengers per year. For many, this would seem like an amazing accomplishment on its own, and it is. But TravelbyBit is thinking well beyond the multitude of merchants selling their wares, food and beverages to a captive audience. One of many merchants located within the Brisbane International Airport“The airport is just the beginning. We have two crypto tourist routes where a chain of merchants take payments in digital currencies for a traveler’s entire journey to the Great Barrier Reef and to the world class, amazing beaches on the Gold Coasts. We have invited the entire world to come to Brisbane to try the tech and have a holiday, all on crypto,” adds Caleb. But this type of ambition and logistical planning does not come without a cost. TravelbyBit does not charge merchant or ongoing fees on any transactions because it is their belief that in order for merchant adoption to grow, merchants will need to see a positive influence to their bottom line. “We are basically giving our product away,” Caleb states. To help in making this happen, Caleb and his team have also received funding from the Queensland government, donations from generous supporters within the crypto environment, and the NEM foundation who have funded discounts to encourage early adoption. It is a symbiotic and necessary relationship that he hopes will someday also include the likes of the Litecoin Foundation. Through this strategy, TravelbyBit is setting up an average of fifteen new crypto merchants per week. As with any new tech, transaction volume is low. But because of their incredibly friendly merchant platform and zero ongoing costs to merchants, they are able to provide a long runway for adoption to take place without causing companies who are participating to feel like they have been left in a holding pattern. It is the only feasible manner in which to allow for adoption in a potential ‘egg before the chicken’ scenario. Even with a somewhat formidable and glacial-like move towards mass adoption, Caleb is quick to point out there are bright spots on this crypto adventure itinerary as well. In particular, he shares a story of a small, obscure tourist town called Seventeen Seventy (1770). The original name of the town was Round Hill, but it was changed in 1970 to commemorate the second landing of James Cook in Australia. Even though the population of this town is approximately only 1000 people, it is a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and now boasts approximately 30 businesses within or near the town that accept crypto as a form of payment. It is a wonderful example of a static population completely embracing the blockchain and crypto movement. Scuba divers off the Great Barrier Reef in AustraliaCrypto travelers and digital nomads from all around the world should come check out this laid back crypto surfing town, which is very much off the beaten path. It boasts great fishing, amazing wild life, kite surfing and friendly locals. But perhaps the best part of this hidden gem, is that it’s the perfect getaway to the Great Barrier Reef, and away from the droves of tourists who frequent bigger towns. With these types of results in such a short period of time, Caleb Yeoh and TravelbyBit are high on the ingredients for the perfect crypto storm are coming together. Here’s to hoping that the thunder you hear Down Under will soon be the continuous addition of registers, online and otherwise, proudly ringing their link on the blockchain because of the efforts of TravelbyBit, and others like them. To book your crypto holidays to the Gold Coasts or the Town of 1770, contact TravelbyBit at Travelbybit.com or follow them on twitter on @travelbybit or facebook @travelbybitAustralia