The Roadblocks to Mass Adoption: How Crypto Is Clearing the Path

The relevance of the crypto industry in the global economy has steadily increased over the past years. Data shows that over 425 million people owned crypto at the start of this year, which is equivalent to 5% of the global population. Growing competition in the blockchain space, the use of web3 by major brands, and increasing interest by VCs were some of the biggest drivers of crypto adoption last year. However, much more needs to be done for crypto to reach the 1 billion user milestone.

Mass adoption has been one of the main challenges the crypto industry has experienced since its inception.  While many countries, organizations, and industries have embraced cryptocurrency, many remain skeptical about the technology. The reasons for this skepticism vary depending on the technical knowledge of the person who experiences it, calling for different measures.

Understanding the main concerns that give birth to that skepticism is essential for crypto to reach mass adoption. For example, someone who understands the economic and technological aspects of crypto but remains skeptical might be focusing on macroeconomic and political challenges. On the other hand, someone without that technical knowledge will probably focus their skepticism on factors like ease of use, daily applications, and public sentiment.

In an attempt to solve both challenges, the crypto industry has paid special attention to education efforts over the years. While this approach has clearly helped to some extent, it has proven not to be enough. Taking the technical-savvy skeptic as an example makes it clear that education won’t change its mind, topics like regulation and improvement to what they see as technological flaws might. To the average person, understanding how crypto validates transactions won’t make a difference if its benefits and convenience over other alternatives are not immediately clear.

This challenge is not limited to crypto but to all of blockchain’s use cases, whether it is NFTs, web3, or DeFi. Many industry leaders have now realized that a new approach is needed, choosing to focus on aspects like improving the user experience, pushing for regulatory clarity, and increasing collaboration. By learning from the stories of technologies like the internet, cell phones, and VR, companies can not only better approach the challenge of mass adoption but also adjust their expectations.

The increasing pressure from regulators could also become a major reason for the mass adoption of crypto and other blockchain-based technologies. Despite not being a physics problem, the actions taken by agencies like the SEC have generated an equal and opposite reaction from players in the crypto industry. While it is still what an American regulatory framework will look like, Europe’s recently approved MiCA has helped alleviate some of the concerns.

The challenge of crypto mass adoption was the main topic of the “Distribution to 1B Crypto Users” panel moderated by The Defiant’s Founder Camila Russo during this year’s edition of Grit Daily House at Consensus. Russo sat with Souq Co-Founder Ken Berkowitz, Spindl Founder & CEO Antonio Garcia-Martinez, Dynamic Co-Founder & CEO Itai Turbahn, and Dragonfly Partner Ani Pai to learn more about their thoughts on the matter. To learn more about what this panel of experts had to say, make sure to watch the video below or on Grit Daily’s official YouTube channel.