Crypto Adoption Being Driven the Wrong Way

Crypto is not dead, but it is certainly heading that way. Talk to any no-coiner… any of them… any one at all who isn’t already in crypto. Every single one replies the same way when you bring up the subject of cryptocurrencies:

“Crypto? You mean that Bitcoin rubbish?

Jesus man are you still into that useless crap.”

Nobody (and I will repeat this till I am blue in the face), NOBODY is interested in crypto out there in the real world. Nobody at all. Not one single person. Ask yourself if you were not already invested in crypto, would YOU invest your own savings into crypto right now? Be honest. Nope? I thought so, so how do you think new money is going to enter and drive the prices up? Forget moon, it’s not happening right now, not until something drastic changes (or when old crypto money decides to manipulate the prices upwards so they can sell off some more profits).

People are leaving crypto in droves. Even super shill John McAfee has dumped his backing for Bitcoin – basically admitting it is worthless useless old technology. Crypto Coin News (CCN) which was once the number 1 crypto website has virtually dumped crypto and has rebranded itself into a videogame website. And mainstream media doesn’t give a shit at all. We are the laughing stock of all our friends.

Big changes are needed in the entire crypto landscape and there are a lot of parties we can blame. But let’s talk about the lack of crypto adoption which is crucial for real sustained growth and discuss a number of factors holding this back.

Lately, cryptocurrencies have been deterred with rising concerns about the abuse in crypto usage coupled with critically slow mainstream of crypto adoption.

While cryptocurrency as a means of e-commerce payment has received widespread adoption, there are still some areas where crypto hasn’t been fully utilized. Crypto usage is still in the early stages, and therefore, numerous people are still waiting for simple, straightforward use cases.

Entrepreneur Mark Cuban recently tweeted that crypto adoption, notably BTC, was being done wrongly, the main reason why mainstream crypto adoption has been slow. Crypto adoption has also been slowed by the lack of widespread crypto adoption in the investment sector linked to U.S SEC’s impeding more than ten applications to list Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Additionally, the enactment of hefty regulations by several governments, notably China and India, limits the anonymity and freedom of cryptocurrencies that was previously enjoyed as an unregulated commodity. In recent times, there has been a drastic increase in crypto regulations with many nations across the globe taking deliberate steps to try and monitor crypto usage and also create alternative conventional national digital currencies in an attempt to counter decentralized coins.

That being said, below are some of the factors we have analyzed and believe they limit crypto adoption.

1. Crypto adoption has been linked to crime funding

Cryptocurrency, notably anonymous coins, has been blamed for facilitating terrorist activities. Mostly, private coins are said to conduct transactions involving the purchase of weapons from Dark Web sites used to fund terrorism operations. In that effect, numerous private coins have been banned in an attempt to prevent terrorist attacks, which are a real threat.

2. Too many coins hinder usability

Currently, there are over 3,000 cryptocurrencies in the market with a market cap of over 200 billion dollars. With so many coins present in the crypto sector, it can be daunting to choose an ideal coin, especially for beginners. Also, the fact that every coin has its own purpose nowadays from manufacturing, agriculture, power and energy, and so on, that could hinder mainstream adoption.

3. Intense volatility

One of the biggest barriers to cryptocurrency adoption is its extreme price volatility. The price of crypto is often determined by supply and demand, as well as usability. While cryptocurrency volatility provides the primary selling point for crypto traders, volatility greatly disadvantages an average merchant who accepts payment in crypto. Changes in price to a bearish trend can lead to massive losses not experienced with fiat currency. Nonetheless, a viable solution to volatility is necessary to allow merchants to accept payments in cryptocurrency, realizing massive losses due to volatility.

4. Changes in usability

When blockchain and cryptocurrency came out, it was flaunted as a solution to privacy invasion and was expected to provide anonymity and security to users. However, this function has not been fully achieved as crypto is not as private and decentralized as we earlier taught. Out of 3,000 available coins, only about a hundred crypto promise real anonymity. And while privacy coins achieve total anonymity, most are being banned due to their usage in criminal activities.

5. Tokenomics (or lack thereof)

Tokenomics – Token Economics – should play a pivotal role in cryptocurrency. But apart from maybe a dozen cryptos, 99% of all cryptos haven’t got this right. Basically meaning even if the project is not a scam, there’s absolutely no use case for it having it’s own token.

6. Crypto media guilty of flogging a dead horse

Crypto media (you know who I’m talking about – the big venture capitalist backed media sources) is massively to blame for the current state of crypto. If we want adoption and want crypto to be taken seriously then we need to be focusing on real world use cases. Real legitimate projects with high profile backing, good tokenomics, working products and real partnerships. Stop selling your souls plugging the newest shitcoin scam on the block.

And we need to stop wasting everyones time talking about Bitcoin. Bitcoin is 10 years old and it still doesn’t do anything. It is still slow and expensive and is still destroying the environment. It hasn’t gained any adoption outside of gambling in over 10 years and it will not in the next 10 years. Stop flogging this dead horse and try getting engagement into REAL projects. There are some out there, there are cryptos doing good and useful things.

And for the love of god will crypto media ever stop talking about the goddam price? And stop making completely empty uninformed price predictions. Just stop it. Grow up or shut your doors.

Let’s make crypto great again. The only way is to grow up and speak to the things the average Joe can understand. REAL things. Useful things. Not make-believe unicorns, bears, moonshots and Bitcoins.

7. Arrogant Ripple alienating the XRP Community

Ripple’s products are ground breaking. XRP is by far the best crypto in the world and the only one with any real adoption. But Ripple are alienating their fanbase through their arrogance. The XRPcommunity is shrinking and people are losing faith. They are not responding to the common man on the street and are not doing enough to appeal to the masses, instead being regarded by many as being aloof and superior. XRP is becoming the toxic place that everyone criticises Bitcoin for being, not the game changing super-power the cryptocurrency industry wants and needs leading it.

And please, please, please… if Ripple are partnered with Uber and Amazon then just release the info already. Back in 2017 and 2018 they hinted at having partnerships and for the last 3 years every single presentation Ripple have made has included these companies in the slides and verbally using them as examples for this and that. You are better than this Ripple. If you have something lined up then tell us or shut up and stop acting like Justin Sun and stop using these examples. It’s getting boring and just a little bit pathetic now.

Whatever is left of the XRPcommunity deserves better.

8. Security

Too many hacks and scams. Simple as that. Who is going to put money into something that might not be safe?

9. Crypto Whales

If the Whales and the mining giants want higher prices (of course they do) then perhaps they need to look at not pushing everyone away from crypto and try attracting new investors somehow. Piss people off too often and they will dissapear and never return.

What Should Be Done to Drive Crypto Adoption

Cryptocurrency adoption is currently a major debate among crypto enthusiasts. It’s evident that the popularity of cryptocurrency as an alternative investment has drawn investors into the sector, but still, mainstream adoption remains relatively low. And for the general public who aren’t interested in trading crypto, there is still the barrier of price volatility that hinders its widespread adoption.

For crypto adoption to be effective, several things need to be done differently. For instance, there is a need to simplify the entire crypto experience to be more or less like the mobile user experience. Many crypto experts believe that this will go a long way in developing more practical daily use cases that will, in turn, spur cryptocurrency adoption. In most instances, several factors, such as scalability problems, killer DApps, and the lack of institutional adoption, are cited as the missing link in driving mainstream crypto adoption. While institutions such as Fidelity and ICE’s Bakkt futures have made enormous strides in investing crypto, their efforts seem not to be sufficient.

According to Stephen Pair, CEO of Bitpay, crypto adoption could reach high levels if it’s integrated into everyday consumer products and services, for instance, using cryptocurrency to pay for regular bills such as cell phone bill.

In the same rationale, the best way to increase crypto usability, all security concerns should be addressed. The notion of self-sovereignty surrounding digital currencies may create comfort, especially for beginners; individuals should be solely responsible for their own funds and their security.

Although private keys reduce the security risk in storing cryptocurrency in online wallets, crypto coins are at high risk of being stolen, evidenced by the numerous crypto exchanges that have been hacked since the Bitcoin boom.

The blockchain community, as well as cryptocurrency traders, should be particularly vocal on the issue of securing crypto coins. The concept of decentralization associated with blockchain and cryptocurrency should always be honored. After all, that’s the key factor behind mainstream cryptocurrency adoption. Decentralization is the foundation upon which crypto and blockchain are built as that creates transparency and equality not found in traditional banking systems and other governance.

Mainstream blockchain adoption can be improved by supporting and creating companies that will transit from a centralized world to a decentralized world and, in turn, empower individuals with financial freedom. Additionally, banks, financial institutions, fintech companies, and payment platforms should be brought on board by integrating cryptocurrency options, in turn, enhancing mainstream adoption.

There is also a need to educate the non-crypto public to debunk the myths associated with cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. It’s a fact that a majority of the general public associate crypto to scams and Crime without understanding some of the safety features of cryptocurrency.

Finally, the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry should comply with regulations. CipherTrace, a security firm, recently released a report that approximately 65% of the top 120 cryptocurrency exchanges lacked strong Know Your Customer (KYC) policies. Many crypto players believe that the industry should adhere to KYC and Anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, but this is slowing mainstream adoption. Noncompliance deters investors and, consequently, mass acceptance of cryptocurrencies.

Final Thoughts

Close to ten years after the launch of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, most crypto coins are struggling with mainstream adoption. Major factors that contribute to slow adoption include intense volatility, too many coins as insecurity associated with cryptocurrencies. Widespread cryptocurrency adoption is crucial for crypto to achieve usability and also maintain its value. The industry, therefore, needs to focus on enhancing mainstream adoption to enjoy the immense benefits that come with cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

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