Visa and Mastercard shedding $60 billion? That's not pocket change. Merchants, understandably, are fed up. Two to three percent per transaction? Delays that are measured in geological epochs on internet time? It’s as if they’re delivering messages by carrier pigeon in an age of technology. No wonder they're looking for an exit. And now, some of them are looking at altcoins as that same door.

Lower Fees, Real Freedom, Real Rewards?

Enter the promised land of altcoins: $BEST, $SUBBD, $SMOG. Less expensive, less limited, more legitimate – that’s the pitch. It’s the typical David vs. Goliath tale, except this time David could be operating a highly dangerous, unregulated slingshot.

Are these altcoins really the white-hat saviors, coming to free merchants from the grasp of TradFi? Let's pump the brakes a little. The actual challenge isn’t the idea of blockchain payments. The challenges come in deploying them safely, dependably, and at scale. Are we really confident that we’re not simply exchanging one set of unintended consequences for another, and maybe worse ones at that?

Altcoin Utility: Reality or Wishful Thinking?

Let's get real about these alternatives. $BEST supposedly enhances wallet functionality. Fine, but can your new system support the transaction volume of an Amazon Black Friday sale in a day and not go down? Despite the reassuring description of $SUBBD’s security, it’s had to weather a practical attack from advanced adversaries such as state-sponsored hackers. $SMOG, delivering tangible “real world rewards,” sounds cool too, but how sustainable is that model over time? Ponzi scheme, anyone? What are the tokenomics?

These questions are not to be buzz kills, but to inject a dose of realism in the form of some much-needed pragmatism. We’re speaking about replacing systems that, for all their issues, move trillions of dollars every single year without a second thought. The stakes are high.

Unintended Consequences Loom Large

Now picture an alternative universe where altcoins became the accepted form of payment. Sounds liberating, right? Decentralized! No more corporate overlords! Who really controls these altcoin ecosystems? Are we just kicking Visa and Mastercard to the curb for a new, opaque (and more likely to be hacked) set of gatekeepers?

Consider the volatility. Now think about a small business owner trying to manage their cash flow. Now, imagine that same business owner dealing with the wild swings of crypto prices every day. What is the fate of consumer protection when there is no national body empowered to resolve consumer disputes? Who is liable when something goes wrong?

Let's not forget regulation.… Never mind the fact that governments have a long and storied history of distrust towards unregulated and uncontrolled financial environments. When the altcoins start to become a danger to the established order, get ready for a government smackdown. It would turn the Wild West into child’s play!

The Skeptical Pragmatist's Verdict

I’m not predicting altcoins will all die. We recognize that this spirit of innovation is important and challenging the status quo is always healthy. The story of “TradFi is dying” deserves a major wake-up call. So no, Visa and Mastercard aren’t going away anytime soon. They have decades of experience, built-in infrastructure, and (crucially) regulatory capture on their side.

Altcoins provide the hope of less cost, greater liberty and true benefits. What we need is proof. As advocates, we need to see these systems where they’ve been tested, scaled, and proven resilient in the face of real-world challenges. What we need is to see real world adoption of these technologies, not just promotion on social media.

Before you take the leap into altcoins, remember to always research it yourself. DYOR in crypto isn’t just a disclaimer—it’s a requirement. Don’t let the siren song of decentralization lead you to overlook the very real risks at play. Altcoins — in all their wildly speculative, seemingly magical glory — may indeed be the future of payments. It’s a future that merits sober analysis, not willful idealism.

Keep in mind that often the most disruptive innovation is not a complete replacement of the current paradigm, but an enhancement. Spoiler alert, the real answer probably isn’t that altcoins are going to be the ones to dethrone Visa and Mastercard. Rather, it would force these behemoths to change, evolve, create and compete. That, in the end, would benefit everyone. And that’s indeed worth looking forward to.