Cryptocurrency Is Going Mainstream

avatar

We all were waiting for the point that cryptocurrency would go mainstream. When was that going to come and how far away from it are we?

According to a recent survey, a case could be made that we are already there. Now, please do not misunderstand, this does not mean that the majority of people are using cryptocurrency. They are not. We still have a while before we reach that point.

We do see the number of people who are getting some type of exposure to cryptocurrency picking up. Over the years, we saw the same thing with the Internet. Usage started low yet grew over time. We are seeing the same thing with cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin garnered a lot of attention since its went live. This is something that started the process of getting people familiar with this asset class.

As we compare the path of cryptocurrency adoption to the Internet, we can get an barometer of how we are progressing.

Here is a chart of Internet usage as a percentage around the world. We will come back to this is a bit.


Source

A recent article in Newsweek revealed some interesting results.

About 46 million Americans now own at least a share of Bitcoin—that equals about 17% of the adult population. And some of those people are looking to integrate the cryptocurrency into their personal financial plans—including their life insurance.

This means that Bitcoin is starting to penetrate the psyche of the American public. It also tells us that it is only a matter of time, if it has not already, before it spreads to the rest of the world to a similar degree.

Looking back at the chart, we see the 17% figure is also the same number we see for Internet usage in the developed world in 1998. Hence, from this perspective, we are near the end of the last century.

While the Internet was not used by the masses at that time, it wasn't such a foreign concept. Also, we need to look at the pace of growth from that point. It took only a few years before it jumped to more than 1/3 the population.

There is a major difference between that time and now. Today, we are dealing with a more technologically advanced society. This is pushing many to believe that cryptocurrency adoption will actually outpace the Internet rates. It is especially true in the non-developed countries where infrastructure was a challenge. Many of those people are already online.


Source

All this is promoting the idea that we could see a billion cryptocurrency users within the next few years. If the developing countries see a similar path as the developed, or even exceeds it in some instances, the numbers will get big rather quickly.

Of course, Bitcoin ownership and cryptocurrency adoption are two completely different things. The former is still pushing the idea of cryptocurrency as a financial instrument. For most, especially in the United States, it is something that is bought, similar to stocks. This is the first stage, the entry point if you will. However, for the masses to truly embrace it, there needs to be more.

Here is where we see development entering the picture. Cryptocurrency, to most, is something that is bought, not used. We are going to have to see this shift in mindset take hold. To get there, it makes sense that the transition will happen when people start to use applications that reward them, or utilizes, cryptocurrency.

Once this happens, that is when things will really go parabolic.

image.png
Source

At the beginning of the year, it was believed that there were 106 million cryptocurrency users in the world. This global figure is certainly much higher today, simply based upon the results of the surveys out of the United States.

With 46 million users, there is no way that the U.S. accounts for 40% of the global market share. It is a much lower number than that. We see penetration rates in countries like Nigeria also exploding.

This means that the total number of users is increasing at a growing pace. Here is where we see the quest for 1 billion users starting to take hold. It will take a few years to get there but it is likely we see more than 100% growth for a while.

We see similar numbers in such areas as the number of Ethereum wallets. That is experiencing an acceleration that is mirroring what is being forecast here.

The NFT craze is another example of how the masses are starting to be exposed to the idea of cryptocurrency. While many might not like up the two, digital assets are becoming part of the mainstream. With celebrities releasing their own NFTs, the enamored public is hopping on board, wanting to own a piece of that person's fame.

Whereas this might not be the most beneficial way to build a user base, it does bring in larger numbers. When we look at the basic categories of cryptocurrency, NFTs are a growing percentage. The transition from that to something such as a gaming token is not that big a leap.

Years ago, the idea of the Internet was written into television shows. It was a big deal to discuss something like that. Presently, no writer would do that since it is simply a part of most people's lives.

We are seeing the same thing with cryptocurrency. Elon Musk goes on Saturday Night Live and talks about DOGE. That is newsworthy. In 5 years, few will consider putting cryptocurrency as a significant piece in a show's plot. In other words, it will just be a part of people's lives.

So yes, it is looking like we can now say that cryptocurrency is going mainstream.


If you found this article informative, please give an upvote and rehive.

gif by @doze

screen_vision2025_1.png

logo by @st8z

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta



0
0
0.000
41 comments
avatar
(Edited)

I've said it before and I will say it again: doing crypto in 2021 is equivalent to browsing the web before the HTTP protocol was even a thing. The game is still complicated for the average Joe, but will inevitably become a lot more popular as the years go by. We all are early adopters.

Nice read.

!LUV 1

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

I agree with that. To a degree, you nailed it. Crypto is like trying to find a site entering the IP addy. Too far beyond the average individual. As ease of use enters the picture, we could see something radically different.

Another view though is that the more people involved now, they are learning about keys and things of that nature. So they are getting the education and the numbers are still going up.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

pixresteemer_incognito_angel_mini.png
Bang, I did it again... I just rehived your post!
Week 56 of my contest just started...you can now check the winners of the previous week!
!LUV
2

0
0
0.000
avatar

It is going mainstream no doubt. When one puts the rate of growth in terms of adoption over the last couple of years, it is easier to appreciate that fact without a doubt.

I am hoping that newbies will make the jump sooner from merely trading like stocks to actually understanding and supporting use case scenarios. Either way, it will become part of our lives sooner rather than later

0
0
0.000
avatar

I support that sentiment. We have to transition newer people away from the idea of just investing to actual use cases. Of course to do that, those have to exist. I think development is still a bit behind on that end but working hard on changing it.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

A lot more friends asking me about crypto than in 2017, including people who scoffed or laughed at it before. It is definitely seeping into the public consciousness.

0
0
0.000
avatar

there could be one good thing with all this ass, cummie, shiba, scam... tokens. and that is they exploded on tiktok. some will get rich of it, most will not, but a shit load of people will learn about crypto. so mainstream can come faster.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I believe that all news at this point is good news. Yes there will be people crushed for what they are getting into. However, they will learn about it and understand some of what is taking place. They will leave for a while, likely, but will be back. This is not going away.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

it was believed that there were 106 million

This is relatively still low but we can't doubt the fact that this year has seem tremendous new out-turn for Crypto especially in countries like Nigeria as you have rightly mentioned. The hype has sold a lot for coins like doge and from this a lot more people will have the knowledge of more dependable coins

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

Time will tell if they will look for dependable stuff. I do not underestimate the insanity of markets. However, we will see development progress so that it will creep into people's lives. Use cases are going to expand greatly.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

Wow, the relation between those two items is pretty impressive. It does look like crypto adoption is going to outpace the Internet usage one. We are talking decades between the US having Internet and the mild adoption of crypto versus countries like Nigeria who have likely had access to the Internet for a far shorter amount of time, but crypto adoption is robust over there. I think that should be a good indictor of the trajectory this will be taking.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

Yes and the decades gap is not there. Countries like Nigeria are already in on crypto so they are not waiting the couple decades like they did with the Internet. That is only going to push the numbers higher on a faster pace in my opinion.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

This is the future. It can't be different.

0
0
0.000
avatar
(Edited)

I think that after the pandemic we will totally be able to pay or recieve through cryptocurrency. Blockchain has been the reality of this era, and together with cryptocurrency, they r an inseparable whole.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I was just about to proclaim that cryptocurrencies are everywhere hahaha.

We will see that the not so clear figure of 200 million crypto users, will skyrocket this year and reach 500 or 700 million.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

200 million could be a minimum number for the year. Hell we might be near that now for all I know. It is a lot of speculation and guesswork but there is no doubt it is spreading. We just need to get some more applications in people's hands.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

Eventually it will be so, as the ease of buying crypto, and the popularization of dapps, nft and other things will make it more and more.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

I think we're finally reaching that tipping point where adoption just goes 'boom'.

I think it's a fair comparison comparing Net adoption to crypto adoption too.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

I think we're finally reaching that tipping point where adoption just goes 'boom'.

The cool thing about exponential curves if the boom you see first is minor in comparison to the boom a year or two later. It just keeps growing.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

quest for 1 billion users starting to take hold

I am assuming this is just about the actual wallet numbers? Or is this also including indirect exposure to crypto? Because its possible for people to create multiple wallets.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

People not wallets. If we are around 150 million people (not wallets), it isnt that large a jump. A couple 100% years, which is very possible, and we are there.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

And “earning” crypto will be the catalyst that brings in the masses. Staking and compounding is smarter then investing the rent money.


Posted via proofofbrain.io

0
0
0.000
avatar

When the Crypto adoption rate hits 90% of the adult population BTC price will be hundreds of thousands a coin if not more.

0
0
0.000
avatar

That is very possible. We could see the price of BTC explode.

Actually if we hit 90%, we will see the price of everything skyrocket.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

Thank you for sharing this! As a total newbie to crypto, I'm trying to absorb as much info as I can. It's kind of overwhelming at times considering I'm really not tech savvy, but it makes sense that over time it will all become more mainstream and user friendly (or dummy friendly lol)

0
0
0.000
avatar

Great article! The trend of crypto's rising adoption is fairly easy to see/ predict at this point, imho. It's almost certainly 'mainstream.' The whole thing reminds me of another interesting and insightful graph, on top of the ones you've shared here. Early Adopters Vs. Laggards:

Grabbed it off Google Images / cleanhands-safehands.com

Anyway, great food for thought, thanks for sharing.

0
0
0.000
avatar

We used to dream about this stuff 4 years ago and now it's becoming reality, at least we are making some progress. I wish Hive would also be making progress towards becoming at least somewhat mainstream

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

I don’t know the numbers or even looked at the stats... my take is purely antidotal, but based on some of the post we see here crypto adoption in undeveloped nations seems more common than in the U.S. Most Americans are only interested in speculation, but citizens elsewhere are already using it to meet daily needs.

I’m not sure how those numbers scale but it seems people using crypto for practical use cases is a stronger sign of adoption than people just hodling.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I see people that before when I spoke I thought it was crazy, I said that this would not work, today they are all involved in the asset market and gaining from it ... This is the future there is no escape from it.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

Unlike internet, cryptosphere has something that will scare quite a few people away: bear markets. I'm curious how long the early adopters will have the benefit of the bull-bear cycle as we know it today.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

The NFT craze is another example of how the masses are starting to be exposed to the idea of cryptocurrency.

Yes, I believe NFTs might actually lead us to the tipping point. It represents a completely new use-case, which equates to a far better chance of rapid adoption than trying to shift individual behaviors away from something existing.


Posted via proofofbrain.io

0
0
0.000
avatar

Love the graphs help me to see the growth that crypto is doing on the global market. Very interesting and exciting times to come.

0
0
0.000
avatar

The mainstream is coming, slowly but they are coming!
Some friend asking me now about crypto, earlier they called my “stupied“.
Isn't it funny how things can turn with the time;)

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

I was speaking to a very old doctor and he said in his time knowledge doubled every ten years and before his time it doubled every hundred years. He further went on to say that with the advent of the internet that information will probably have a doubling time of 5 years.

I feel the numbers adopting cryptocurrency are higher. In my country I can say a whooping 10% have cryptos. However they may not know why they are into it. So after a hard hit by the market they may move and so let's say the real users are about 5% in my country which is a good number for a developing country like Nigeria.

I hope crypto currency makes it big and get mass adoption in the future. I can't wait to see that happen

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000