How do We Really Measure the Level of Adoption of Cryptocurrencies?
This leads to an interesting thought on how to judge the actual level of adoption. While many statistics focus on what goes on with the front-facing cryptocurrency exchanges, there is really no way to know what goes on through back channels and on Over-the-Counter trading desks.
There are even stories of exchanges happening where a wallet with a certain amount of BTC, for example, 1000 BTC, is kept on a secure USB drive. When two interested parties meet, they open the drive to prove authenticity, an agreed-upon price is paid for the contents, and the USB is then reconfigured and handed to its new owner.
In these such trades, there is no on-chain transaction. And it is likely that more of these types of deals go on then most can imagine.
With countries like Venezuela announcing the support of Bitcoin and Ethereum to go alongside its national ‘Petro’ digital currency, it’s becoming more and more obvious that its the smaller economies that are utilizing the promise of blockchain currently.
People in the United States have a functioning financial system (relatively speaking), with bank accounts for a dominant percentage of the population and credit cards that many have become dependent upon. For its faults, the system operates and transactions are made without the wild fluctuation in currency value that has been seen in Venezuela, Argentia and Turkey.
But in the places that do face these currency challenges, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are increasingly becoming the more attractive alternative. And due to the more “off the grid” nature for many of these places, as far as the mainstream media is concerned, reliable data on adoption from these areas is lacking.
So while the headlines related to cryptocurrencies tend to focus on institutional investors or the latest cryptocurrency derivatives product, the real use case of banking the unbanked in slowly spreading in the background to the ones who need it most. And currently, there is not a reliable way to judge the level of this adoption, which could be higher than most assume.
Recent headlines about China’s Central Bank Digital Currency possibly being released in November and the U.S. Fed openly discussing a digital dollar show that the digital age of money is officially upon us. We are still in the very early stages, but it’s clear that this is the path that the world is headed down.
Look past any headlines that try to convince you otherwise, for they are the screams of a dying system clinging to life. Blockchain is the future, and we look forward to taking this journey with you.
Published at Sun, 06 Oct 2019 18:58:29 +0000
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