Let's look at how the adoption of cryptocurrencies has evolved over a span of the last decade, since they have come into existence.
Developers become early adopters
- For the first time, the 'double-spend' problem had been solved via Bitcoin protocol - Those interested in the new concept of 'programmable money' were quick to notice and dive in
Criminals and Cartels
- Well no surprise there, as criminals always need to improvise and adapt to stay ahead of law enforcement. Its not just crypto, they are usually one of the firsts to adopt the internet, cell phones, satellite phones, secret chat apps etc. Watch any web series you will see just that.
- Earliest known examples are Silk Road, a portal in the dark web as a marketplace for narcotics
Citizens in general
- Who view crypto as a storehold of wealth which when needed can also serve as a medium of exchange
- To preserve privacy of transactions
- To experience the feeling of doing a monetary transaction outside the traditional banking system
- A hedge against inflation and/or negative interest rates
Gaming:
- Gamers have a history of being early adopters of latest technology like Virtual reality (VR), AR etc
- Mainly due to the fact that most active gamers are quite young and have a tendency to learn quickly
- Blockchain gaming is still in nascent stages but is rapidly evolving, watch out and it might surprise you.
Decentralized Services:
This is my current favorite, as it quite literally bids goodbye to 'Middlemen' !
-DAPPS (or Decentalized Apps) can really change the way people do things going forward. Lets look at some of the areas they are rising in adoption:
-DeFi (Decentralized finance, lend and borrow, earn interest without going through banks)
-DeX (Decentralized exchanges and liquidity, say bye to KYC norms)
-DeDe (Decentralized derivatives, lever up to the moon if you can handle it ! )
-Decentralized Video Streaming (Sorry Censor Boards, keep your scissors to yourselves)
-Decentralized casinos (Now you don't have to travel to Vegas to gamble it away !)
-Decentralized relationships (uh, sorry not this one, yet).
Enterprises
- Over the last decade, most enterprises were complaining that blockchains don't scale, high transaction fees etc.
- The new-generation blockchains have given them a rude shock with superfast txn speeds at costs less than 1 cent with high throughputs
- Major tech companies are aware of this and are working on blockchain solutions worldwide across different industries
Governments and Central Banks
- Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) - ideal for a fully regulated govt controlled money and to bring the population under total compliance
- Why borrow money from Central banks at interest when the govt can create it themselves via crypto and distribute directly through mobile apps ?
Countries like Venezuela, Uruguay, Tunisia, England are already testing a national CBDC, China is experimenting on a Digital Yuan (DCEP - Digital Currency for Electronic Payment)
More countries are planning to follow this path.
- Note: CBDC's means absolute control and no scope for privacy like paper cash. Also eliminates tax evasion.The bond yields, interest rates and taxation would be controlled by politicians, giving them immense power and mega-authority.
- If you happen to piss off someone who is in power, next thing you know, your funds would have been evaporated leaving you 'currency'rupt (think bankrupt, except no bank).
- If your money is connected to your identity (like Citizenship/Passport), then it can get worse as they could theoretically switch off those who don't comply
Remittances
- Payments and Cross border financial settlements
- When near-instant and direct payments are a reality via crypto, why go through the painful process of waiting for 'days' to get the money sent to your loved ones (This means bad news for SWIFT and Western Union)
- Stablecoins which are pegged to a particular currency has fast-tracked this process by overcoming the risks of volatility for value transfer
Utility Token Offerings
- We have seen a rise of utility tokens that are used to perform a particular utility on a network
Examples: Exchange issued tokens
Security Token Offerings
- Cryptocurrencies provide huge scope for tokenizing assets enabling direct and borderless issuance of any security via tokenization
-Asset backed cryptos provide a useful alternative investment that comes with increased transparency and true ownership
- Imagine someday you could buy shares of a foreign company or a portion of real estate outside of your country/jurisdiction without having to go through lengthy regulatory red tape
- Fundraising for particular causes and projects is also a possible option in this space
DAO ( Decentralized Autonomous Organizations )
- This means apps or programs that run by themselves and perform tasks and even own digital or non-digital assets using smart contract technology
- Imagine a software program that manages a stock exchange or an online marketplace using Blockchain and IoT, runs by itself with no human intervention !
- If you add AI (Artificial Intelligence) to the mix, it gets even crazier, the possible use cases are not even thought about yet.
Apart from the ones mentioned, who else do you think would be happy to welcome cryptos ? Where do you want to see crypto in your future post 2020 ? Do let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Get your decentralized multi-asset crypto wallet with free token Airdrop worth $15 !
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Disclaimer: The information provided in this article/ blog post should NOT be considered as investment advice. I am not an investment advisor and therefore do not offer individual financial advice. Please do your own research before investing.
You got me with the decentralized relationship. Lols.