The next step will be offering financial services to scrape transactional fees off the top of each transaction that goes through the network.
Miners will get a fee as they process transactions, currency conversion, payment processors and exchanges will occupy the financial space working to secure a piece of the transactional pie as merchants and vendors come on board and begin to conduct business online in bitcoin. One of the most alluring aspects of this digital currency is that it is worldwide, holds no singular national value and, by its very nature, is free from manipulation by governmental agencies. That is not to say that it is free from regulation. Far from it. Governments are already maneuvering to ‘control’ the bitcoin industry. Here, the problem is that it is already outside of any national boundary so ‘control’ is a fleeting illusion. At the same time, regulation by authorities and judicial validation of currency status only serve to strengthen the bitcoin argument. While there is still a long way to go for mainstream adoption, each day is one step closer.