Crypto’s Here to Stay – from Humble Beginnings to 1 Billion Users by 2030

To the untrained eye, the future of crypto seems as uncertain as the currently fluctuating prices of the most popular cryptocurrencies available. However, to those in the loop, the future of crypto is not just certain – it’s prosperous.

Crypto is going through a bit of a rough patch, and that’s undeniable. For example, Saturday brought on significant losses for Bitcoin, one of the most sought after cryptocurrencies in existence. BTC has experienced a decline of 60% from the beginning of the year and 37% in this month alone, marking the first drop below $20.000 since December 2020. Sound the alert, code red, DEFCON 1 everybody.

However, looking at other economic indicators, the euro’s not having a great time and the dollar has seen its fair share of trials and tribulations as well. The difference is you didn’t see anybody abandon ship when it came to the fluctuating value of hard currencies. Our point is, this happens, but if the past is anything to go by, cryptocurrencies will bounce back fast, and more importantly, current reports state they’re here to stay and reign.

The Emergence of Cryptocurrency

The projections for the future of cryptocurrency are as bright as the light of the stars reaching us through the images made possible by the James Webb Space Telescope. If you’re unfamiliar with just what this telescope’s managed to capture, let’s just say that the future is very, very bright, especially taking into consideration the tendencies of global superpowers to develop their own version of digital currencies, and crypto has the upper hand of an early start.

We’ll talk more about that later though, as it’s our firm belief that there’s no point in talking about the future without at least touching on the past. Cryptocurrencies have had an interesting beginning to say the least, and the place where they are now would’ve been almost unimaginable at the very start of the economic revolution. However, from humble beginnings comes greatness, and crypto’s just another example of an old paradigm coming true.

The Inception

According to CryptoVantage, the very first mention of the idea of crypto as a means of currency originated as far back as 1983 from David Chaum, an American cryptographer trying to develop an outline of “electronic” money that would remain anonymous. Twelve years later, he started building upon this initial idea through the development of Digicah, a seminal proto-cryptocurrency.

After this, there was Bit Gold in 1998, which served as the most direct influence on Bitcoin. Nick Szabo wanted participants to use the power of their computer in an attempt at solving complex cryptographic riddles and puzzles, the success of which warranted a reward. As you can see, this is where the similarities start to emerge and it’s from Bit Gold that you can start drawing a clear line to BTC and other currently active forms of crypto.

However, there was a crucial seemingly unsolvable issue with Bit Gold – working out the double-spending problem that allowed copying of digital data. This conundrum continued to live on in infamy until 2008 when an individual or a group, who to this day is still as anonymous as D.B. Cooper or Banksy, managed to crack the issue. Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of cryptocurrency as we know it, had started an economic revolution.

The Beginning

It was October 31 of the year 2008 when Satoshi Nakamoto decided to publish his (or their, or her) white paper for Bitcoin that explained the operating principles of the blockchain network. Through blockchain came all other cryptocurrencies, and more recently non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and, to an extent, the metaverse as a concept as well. The unalterable structure of cryptocurrency is born.

The first Bitcoin network block ever was established on January 3, 2009 with The Times’ headline embedded into it, permanently referencing the economic conditions of the time, one of the reasons for the existence of crypto as an antithesis to the centralized financial system and omnipresent bank bailouts of the time. Raging against the banking system, if you would. However, the beginning was, as it turned out, just the beginning.

The Block of Genesis (a missed opportunity if you ask us, as it was originally called the Genesis Block), had almost no perceivable value at the time of its establishment. However, in six months’ time, Bitcoin increased in value to almost 14 cents. November saw it valued at 36 cents, ultimately bringing it to settle at just over 29 cents. You see, this is part of the reason why we’re not lamenting the current drop in value. 

The Rise

The years 2010 to 2014 brought about the slow rise of the value of Bitcoin, however, still unlike the scale we’re witnessing today. February 2011 – 87 cents. From there, in less than three full months, the value surged to just under $9. One thing led to another, and we wouldn’t want to bore you with the details of BTC value fluctuations (mostly rise), but the end of 2013 marked the highest value of Bitcoin of all times up until that point – $1,163. Was the “greatness” from humble and uncertain beginnings? Yes, but also no.

It wasn’t until 2016 that Bitcoin actually started reaching its full potential for the time. We say for the time as there’s no glass ceiling in sight, at least not yet, that would prevent BTC from continuing its surge in value. The all-time high of this cryptocurrency was just shy of $20,000 on December 17, 2017. From there, it was all hands on deck for the development of crypto, and as the likes of Ethereum, Dogecoin, and many others sprung into existence, the cryptomarket passed the threshold of $3 trillion in 2021. 

How do you like them apples (or something to that effect, but more related to crypto). The story of cryptocurrency up to this point in time is one of inevitable downs but also strong and sudden ups. It would seem that most enthusiasts and individuals who value privacy and anonymity understand this. Plus, the notion of earning that crypto offers is one that not many can resist. When the Pied Piper of Crypto plays, it’s wise to follow.

What’s the Allure of Cryptocurrency?

All this has led us to this point in time and the history of crypto where we discuss its imminent future and widespread acceptance by no less than one billion people by 2030, according to CryptoPotato. That’s nine zeroes, and in fewer than 10 years. Every single lost fortune story, every single year of the development of this currency, and every single individual who’s invested, earned, lost, and retrieved are what’s created the vision of crypto that’s going nowhere.

Not only is it going nowhere, it’s actually spreading like wildfire and quickly seeping into every fiber of our technologically developing society. Free trade possibilities, secure and anonymous transactions if you so choose, real-world value and the “anyone can get on board” attitude connected to cryptocurrencies is what’s making this unique form of economy not only viable, but striving for the future that’s irrefutably digital. So why shouldn’t money follow?

Billion Users Projected in Fewer than 10 Years

Speaking of nine zeros, where are these projections coming from and how are we even able to tell just how many individuals are going to get into crypto in any number of years in the future? It’s time to get down to brass tacks and really dive into the place where these projections are coming from. On the one hand, a joint report from Boston Consulting Group, Bitget and Foresight Ventures signals low adoption rates of crypto in comparison to traditional investment assets.

However, as CoinTelegraph reports, there’s a huge flipside to this, and that’s “Plenty of growth to come”. According to research, it’s this growth that projects 1 billion crypto users by the year 2030, and that’s only in terms of cryptocurrency, one facet of blockchain technology. There’s also projections of the NFT market surgeon $230 billion in value during the next ten years with the entire metaverse escapade reaching the value of 5 trillion dollars during the same timeframe.

And there’s one final point we’d like to take, which is that cryptocurrencies are, essentially, still in the early stages of acceptance. It’s normal for its value to fluctuate and it’s normal for individuals to still be vary of “anonymous monetary transactions through internet thingamajigs”. However, as gold, then money outshone peppercorns as the preferred method for granting value to an item, so will crypto and other digital currencies gradually become more widely accepted as the time passes.