Crypto Mass Adoption: A matter of when not if.

Crypto Mass Adoption:

Crypto Mass adoption is when crypto is accepted and publicly utilized on a big scale. It includes  the use and acceptance of crypto as a standard and common form of payment in different outlets like general stores, websites for online shopping, restaurants, hotels, etc. crypto Mass adoption is one of the key objectives of several cryptocurrency and blockchain companies.

Mass adoption is a comparative term, as zero quantity is linked to meaning. Or you can say it is unclear how many people and stores must accept crypto before it is considered popular and used by the masses. Crypto mass adoption is one of the primary challenges of various cryptocurrency projects. Recently, a few projects' technological complexities have been viewed as deterrents to bringing the public on board through blockchain technology. However, some organizations are working on easily accessible products.

Crypto mass adoption rate in different regions:

As of 2022, the estimated global cryptocurrency ownership increased to about 4.2%, with 320 million cryptocurrency users worldwide. 

Apart from demographics, you can approach cryptocurrency adoption on a country-to-country basis. Many countries around the globe are more inclined towards using cryptocurrencies, due to their regulation and economic factors.

Below we have highlighted a few countries ranked based on the 2021 survey.

Africa:

Africa has been one of the big players in cryptocurrency. The below chart compares Africa with other regions by transaction volume size.

Nigeria, first on the African nations list, has a population of 200 million. Most adults have owned or used cryptocurrency at some point for sending money or paying their shopping bills over their phones. 32% Nigerians – approximately a third of the country's population which statista had surveyed. That Nigerian aged between 18- 60 years do investment in cryptocurrencies themselves.

Thailand:

In 2021, 10% of the world's population will own cryptocurrency in different forms. Thailand has a crypto share of about 31%, which shows that Thai internet users have digital currencies.

Vietnam:

Economically, Vietnam is a fast-growing Southeast Asian country with around 100 million people and massive cryptocurrency demand. Crypto activities range from trading & P2P to payments and different utilities. In the report of Chainalysis 2020, cryptocurrency investors collected $400 million by the name of cryptocurrency earnings. According to a survey report by Finders, there is a big gap between female and male cryptocurrency ownership:  44% of males say that they own crypto in contrast to 35% of women. Approximately 70% of Vietnam cryptocurrency owners will be between 18 years and 34 years old, and 25% will be 35 years to 54 years old by 2022.

Philippines:

The Philippines has economic & demographic conditions similar to Vietnam’s. The Philippines central bank issues licenses to cryptocurrency organizations, while the government is issuing bonds through blockchain applications.

Turkey

In Turkey, crypto-based companies have become so huge that they sponsor national football teams. Apart from this, Turkish football clubs also provided blockchain fan tokens. Many Turkish people say that Bitcoin is their prime investment substitute –  not as surprising, as the nation has recorded profits of $300 million in Bitcoin the previous year.

The Middle East is one of the fastest-growing regions with a crypto adoption rate, according to information shared by Chainanalysis in a thread. 

Benefits of crypto mass adoption

• 24/7 -Open Markets

Many conventional financial markets are closed for business during nights, weekends, and holidays. In contrast, Crypto markets operate 24/7 without exception.

• Outsized Returns

The volatility of crypto-characterized prices is one of the major advantages for speculators and day traders. Taking benefits from price fluctuations can assist investors in earning returns, even if crypto prices fall.

• Diversified portfolio

Currently, crypto is known as an unrelated asset class. For diversification purposes, cryptocurrencies provide traders with another vehicle through which they can increase their money outside of ETFs, stocks, or bonds.

• out of harm's way

Cryptocurrency security, in huge part, is identified by hash rate. A high hash rate means more computing skill is needed to deal with the network as the crypto has embedded features of cryptography & blockchain security, the decentralized crypto used for secure payment.

• Effortless transactions

Crypto-based transactions are easier to make, cost-reasonable, and secure. Anyone can send or receive different cryptocurrencies through a smartphone application, exchange, or hardware wallet.

• High ratio of Industry Growth

The crypto market is growing rapidly, especially since the launch back of Bitcoin in 2009. The overall crypto market cap in 2013 was approximately $1.6 billion. By September 2022, it had $930 billion in value.

• Less time and charges for Settlement

Some people only make cryptocurrency investments to take the appreciation benefits of (prospective) price. At the same time, others may use cryptocurrencies as a source of exchange. Payments for most cryptocurrencies payments take  seconds and minutes.

• Cross-boundary payments

Crypto doesn't differentiate between borders. Anyone present in one country can exchange coins with some other country without any difficulty. In a few cases, this exchange may not be possible due to tensions, sanctions, and government regulations. Still, cryptocurrency goes around the globe, as traders can do peer-to-peer transactions.

• Private Transactions

Security and privacy can be a huge advantage of cryptocurrency. Notably, many crypto-based transactions are pseudonymous, and many are anonymous too. For example, the coin services group mixes the transactions in a way that makes them difficult to separate from one another; eventually, it is difficult for external observers to trace.

• Financial System

Millions of unbanked people today have zero access to and knowledge of the financial system, such as bank accounts. With the help of cryptocurrency, those people need only a smartphone, and they can convert themselves into their bank.

What's stopping crypto adoption?

Currently, there are 2,000 plus cryptocurrencies present in the market. All these crypto claims that they are superior to others on several grounds, but these cryptocurrencies are yet to get enough global mass adoption for many reasons.

1. Improve Safety:

People want safety and legal authority that can resolve their digital cash issues. In the decentralized crypto systems, it is difficult to trace defaulters & punish them. This is one of the primary causes that national governments do not openly discuss the laws.

1. Better regulation:

Some countries have created friction; for example, China banned cryptocurrencies as they were ready to float their own digital currency. A few countries' regulators do not understand the technology advancement well enough to devise a suitable crypto legal framework that supports the cryptocurrency industry.

1. Fiat to cryptocurrency on-ramps:

The biggest hurdle in cryptocurrency friction is the on-ramp. Transferring from fiat to cryptocurrency needs a link with a centralized, well-regulated organization and inspection by AML & KYC, which may lead to a massive drop-off.

1. Enough Education:

Education is a crucial point in crypto mass adoption. Fear of not getting crypto is a huge hurdle for many who want to begin.

1. Ease of use:

Managing privacy is a key factor. Average users do not want to worry about dropping private keys with their funds. Remembering a 64-character phrase or putting it down on paper always is a barrier to entry into the crypto world.

When will crypto be universally adopted?

According to the crypto exchange Bitstamp's survey, 88% of institutional respondents and 75% of retail traders believe cryptocurrency will see mainstream mass adoption within ten years.

The detailed survey was composed of 28,563 plus investors from around 23 countries from Europe, North American, Latin America, Africa, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. The 28,000 investors comprise 5,450 senior decision makers of institutional investment strategy & 23,113 retail investors.

• Retail investors (23,113):

About 54% of retail investors believe that they may use cryptocurrency for online shopping, while 45% say that cryptocurrency is quite new & will grow over the next five years.

• Institutional investors (5,450):

Nearly 63% invest in cryptocurrency more than a couple of times a week, while 54% have more than 30% of their portfolio in cryptocurrency.

Bitstamp's survey also suggested that regulation is still a barrier to cryptocurrency investment. Almost ½ of retail investors & more than 1/3 of institutional investors believe cryptocurrency is unregulated.

On the other hand, In March 2022:

• USA President Joe Biden has given an executive order to consider a legal framework for digital currency/assets.
• Recently, El Salvador officially announced Bitcoin as a legal digital currency. The Central African Republic has become the 2nd country to take Bitcoin as legal tender.
• At the same time, trust in cryptocurrency worldwide is mainly driven by countries with developing and unstable economies, where conventional financial systems are not so trustworthy.

Conclusion:

The point to consider here is not if worldwide crypto adoption will happen but when it will happen. The real timeline is difficult to write down; crypto mass adoption could happen in three years, six years, ten years, or maybe more. The thing is that it will happen, and there are objective advantages to learning about crypto before crypto mass adoption takes place. Understanding the crypto earlier instead of later can make an easier transition. So the topicat the dinner table would no longer be "tell us about your bank?" but instead "what is your cryptocurrency?"