Will Crypto Ever Achieve Mainstream Adoption?

Today we’ll discuss the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies, so make sure you read it till end to know each detail related to crypto regulations.

The adoption of cryptocurrency is similar to that of any other technology. The adoption rate increases gradually until around eight to 10%, then generally surges upwards to widespread adoption from there. This overall rate of adoption can be described as gradual, then sudden.

With each passing year, we witness new advancements emerge from space that capture the thoughts and wallets of people worldwide. NFTs have taken the Philippines by storm, and the Bitcoin Lightning Network is used for day-to-day transactions. 

In El Salvador, for example, CBDCs are on the horizon. Regardless of cryptocurrency, future governments are developing their own digital currencies, CBDCs, or Central Bank Digital currencies. 

Independent financial innovations are similar to cryptocurrencies. It will be established around the CBDC rather than within traditional financial institutions like banks. Going forward, direct allocations by institutions are likely to rise. 

It’s been 14 years since the birth of Bitcoin marked the emergence of the cryptocurrency industry, and things have changed a lot in the meantime. The number of crypto projects on the market increased considerably year after year, and so did the number of crypto users; traders and investors eventually warmed up to this new paradigm for money, crypto prices reached unfathomable values, and more businesses started to accept digital currencies as a payment option; people can now buy Ethereum with debit cards and use it to purchase goods and services or add it to their investment portfolio, and the market continues to grow and expand as we speak. 

The question is when will be the crypto will be regulated globally. The precise timetable is difficult to predict. Mainstream acceptance could occur in two, five, ten, or more years. However, the point is that it will happen, and there are objective advantages to learning about cryptocurrencies before widespread adoption. 

Mainstream institutional adoption is already here. Perhaps when MicroStrategy CEO Michael J. Saylor first openly embraced bitcoin, the writing was on the wall. 

Several institutions have already shown interest in crypto, which is a significant accomplishment. Understanding cryptocurrency sooner rather than later will help all folks move more smoothly, so make sure to subscribe to Cryptotrends, the best place to learn about cryptocurrencies and new projects. 

As a publicly traded company that has been around since 1989 and is known for having a lot of capital in excess reserves, sailor publicly raising the alarm about crypto and even calling it superior to cash raised some eyebrows among institutions and started a snowball effect. 

Since then, there have been several mainstream institutional adoptions, such as Tesla investing $5 billion into Bitcoin. Elon Musk, Tesla’s self-proclaimed techno king, has earned quite a name for himself in the media since 2020. 

Musk and Sailor have put a face to institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies from being a leader of the meme coin dogecoin and possibly having a large hand in pumping bitcoin. PayPal is also an early adopter after amending his Twitter bio to include Bitcoin and later buying $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin for Tesla. 

PayPal began as one of the forerunners in ushering in digital transactions. Because of their history of pushing and facilitating cross-border transactions in minutes, it only makes sense for them to get on the Bitcoin bandwagon. 

They recently enabled consumers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, ethereum, Litecoin and bitcoin cash. However, cryptocurrency fans have chastised PayPal for not allowing customers to transfer their money to a private wallet. 

Visa, for example, now accepts stablecoin transactions on the ethereum network. Mastercard has followed suit, announcing that their clients can conduct cryptocurrency transactions beginning in 2021. With two major payment companies on board, the way is clear for broader popular adoption and practical application among business owners in the coming years. 

This short overview might make you believe things couldn’t be any better in crypto land, but that’s only if you focus on the positives. If you toss the coin and look at the other side, you’ll also notice the less favorable aspects of crypto development. We’re still grappling with the effects of the most recent crypto winter, with the value of crypto assets and trading volume suffering a massive decline since the second half of 2022. 

However, crypto winters are not exactly a novelty, as we’ve already seen the market recover after previous bear runs. What’s concerning and downright confusing is the uncertainty regarding crypto’s future. Even though digital currencies have experienced massive growth and have carved a path into the financial system with unexpected swiftness, the race toward mainstream adoption continues and no one knows when or if crypto will ever cross the finish line. 

According to a recent finder.com analysis, around 27 million Americans own cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin accounting for 44.5% of the total. The percentage of Americans who possess cryptocurrency has not yet surpassed 10% of the overall population, although it has been steadily increasing since bitcoin’s birth in 2009. 

Great expectations 

Bitcoin, the first established cryptocurrency, was launched in the wake of the global economic crisis of 2008-2009. Although most experts agree that this was merely a coincidence, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. As stated in Bitcoin’s whitepaper penned by its mysterious inventor known under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto, the crypto was created with the purpose of providing an alternative form of payment that could function independently of government-imposed capital controls. By eliminating central banks or other intermediaries from the equation, Nakamoto hoped that its innovation could challenge the monopoly of financial elites and put people in control of their personal finances.  

If governments and banks could fail people by not having their best interest at heart, leading to economic downturns as history has proved time and time again, a digital currency like Bitcoin that relies on a peer-to-peer network and operates free of any central control could provide the solution to this long-standing problem. 

When crypto started taking off and the general population became aware of its potential, many were quick to assert that digital currencies will one day be just as popular and ubiquitous as fiat money. Some analysts went as far as stating that crypto might even outpace conventional currencies in terms of usage or completely replace them at one point in the future. 

So far, none of these predictions has yet materialized and no signs indicate they will anytime soon. This raises many questions regarding crypto’s purpose and the place it will occupy in the financial system in the years to come.  

Barriers to Crypto Entering The Mainstream 

Crypto is definitely not the first technology to walk the long road to mainstream adoption. TVs, the internet, smartphones and other tech innovations have all followed a similar trajectory until they became ubiquitous. So, one might say it’s only a matter of time until digital currencies also reach mainstream adoption. But exactly how long it will take for crypto to become an integral part of our lives depends on their ability to overcome the various obstacles they face. Only then will crypto be able to compete with traditional currencies and be accepted as a mainstream financial instrument?  

The benefits of using crypto may be obvious to some. Still, crypto remains this strange and difficult-to-decipher technology for most people, which makes mainstream adoption a bit of a drag. Even if people are more open to using cryptocurrencies nowadays than they were a decade ago, they mostly do it because of the hype and their understanding of this new asset class remains quite limited. If the average user doesn’t understand what digital currencies are about and what advantages they can provide, it’s highly unlikely they will ever fully embrace them. 

A lot of institutions, financial experts, crypto exchanges and other public platforms have taken it upon themselves to educate the public on crypto-related topics and make it easier for ordinary people to understand what this complex technology entails. But as with all things that are new and unfamiliar, it’s going to take a while for crypto education to become widespread knowledge. 

It’s also obvious from the influx of companies and organizations integrating crypto assets into their structure that the demand for digital currencies is increasing. However, demand alone cannot push crypto toward mainstream adoption. We also need a solid and reliable infrastructure for crypto to reach more users and make it easier for everyone to take advantage of its benefits. 

But probably the biggest obstacle to mainstream adoption is represented by volatility. The same volatility that has turned crypto into a popular investment option makes it nearly impossible for people to use digital assets as a normal currency. With crypto prices being influenced by various factors, from supply and demand to social media outlets, or crypto influencers, values can fluctuate greatly from one day to another. 

It’s understandable that no one wants to take the risk of paying for their goods and services with an unstable currency. As crypto organizations and projects are expected to face greater regulatory scrutiny in the future, volatility may eventually subside and reach more tolerable levels, but developing viable regulatory frameworks is going to be a lengthy process. 

Crypto remains caught between promise and progress as it goes through the predictable growing pains, so even though the future looks exciting, it might take a little while longer for crypto to reach mainstream adoption.  

Conclusion

In the last year, many of the top Wall Street banks have invested in new trading desks and infrastructure for bitcoin and crypto, indicating that institutional acceptance of crypto will rise in the long run. 

A rising and significant percentage of less constrained institutional investors, such as family offices, have already begun to commit a modest amount of their assets to outright crypto exposure. Furthermore, approximately half of us Family offices and approximately 30% of European and Asian family offices now have digital assets. 

As long as governments exist, there will be a need for that country’s money. After all, taxes must be paid in the country’s sovereign currency. So while I believe cryptocurrencies are the way of the future, I’m hesitant to believe they will completely replace the US.