In June 17, a Moscow-based cybersecurity company, Kaspersky Lab, published a survey revealing that 19% of people globally have purchased cryptocurrency to date.
But even without the survey, we can say that cryptocurrencies are going mainstream. Individuals, banks, and governments are already using cryptocurrencies. Moreover, 17% of millennials (aged between 22 and 37) prefer cryptocurrencies over traditional money.
So, are we witnessing a mass adoption of cryptocurrencies? How many people will own cryptocurrenciesthe So, are we witnessing a mass adoption of cryptocurrencies? How many people will own cryptocurrencies in the future? To answer these questions we’ll have to take a look back at history.
How did it all begin?
Contrary to popular belief, the idea of digital currencies didn’t start with cryptocurrencies. In fact, there were many attempts to create a digital currency in the past, but they were all faced with the double-spending problem.
Then, in 2008, the first cryptocurrency, bitcoin, was born. Bitcoin managed to solve the double-spending problem, it gave rise to blockchain technology and changed the financial world as we knew it.
With bitcoin, people gained control over their funds and personal information. What’s more, cryptocurrency operations are faster compared with bank transfers. Not to mention that fees are cheaper and third parties don’t control them since they’re decentralized.
Since bitcoin, many cryptocurrencies were developed and became popular.
Biggest cryptocurrencies today
- Bitcoin. The king of all cryptocurrencies and the first cryptocurrency ever. The concept of bitcoin was created by an anonymous person or group of people named Satoshi Nakamoto.
- Ethereum. This is an open, decentralized platform for building blockchain-based applications. Ethereum has a native cryptocurrency called Ether. Also, it’s the second biggest cryptocurrency on the market, right behind bitcoin.
- Ripple is a blockchain-based platform that allows fast and secure global payments. It’s native token is XRP.
- Litecoin is a cryptocurrency that enables its users to complete instant payments to anyone in the world.
- NEO is a platform that uses blockchain technology to digitize assets and automate them with the help of smart contracts.
- TRON is a blockchain-based decentralized platform that allows easy, cost-effective, and secure sharing of digital content.
- Stellar is similar to Ripple. It’s an open-source payment platform that reduces costs and time between international transfers.
- Monero is a secure, private, and untraceable cryptocurrency that can be used for anonymous payments.
There you go, now you know more about some of the most popular cryptocurrencies today. So, let’s switch to out favorite topic – airdrops.
What do airdrops have to do with it?
Airdrops played a great role in attracting people, especially beginners to cryptocurrencies.
Airdrop is a distribution of cryptocurrency tokens usually for free or in exchange for completing tasks, to a large number of crypto wallets. In short, it’s what you could call a freebie or giveaway in the crypto world.
Crypto startups often use airdrops to attract people to their product. And since airdrops are pretty much risk-free and simple to participate in, they attract a large number of people to cryptocurrencies.
Now, let’s go back to our topic and answer how many people actually own cryptocurrencies.
What does the data tell us?
According to the Kaspersky Lab survey mentioned earlier, 81% of the global population has never bought cryptocurrencies, while only 10% said they understand how cryptocurrencies work.
On the other side, Finder.com conducted a survey among 2001 adults in the United States. The survey tells us that only about 8% of American adults own cryptocurrencies, and the most popular type is bitcoin.
The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase also has something to say about the topic. The popular crypto exchange, has reported about 13 million users.
Of course, saying the exact number of cryptocurrency owners is pretty difficult. We can only hope that the number will increase in the future.
Is mass adoption of cryptocurrencies coming?
Yes, it is.
Recently, the crypto world was stunned after finding out that China plans to launch its own native cryptocurrency.
Moreover, Facebook shocked the financial world after announcing Libra, a stablecoin backed by real money.
Moreover, in June 2019, Goldman Sachs’ CEO hinted that the bank is considering launching a cryptocurrency named JPM coin.
Governments, banks, and individuals are turning to cryptocurrencies and the advantages they offer. To sum-up: In the next two years, we’ll be witnesses to the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies.
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