In recent days, the cryptocurrency market has exploded, and the use of BTC and the volume have increased more than almost any other asset (digital or physical) over the same period of time. Bitcoin (BTC) is a reference cryptocurrency, not only because it is the first tokens ever created, but also because it has the largest market capitalization and the most significant community of users and developers in the entire ecosystem.
A recent study by DataLight says that during the bearish band of 2018, when several cryptocurrencies lost more than 90% of their capitalization, the number of transactions increased significantly. This shows that there is not necessarily a correlation between the price of a BTC and its acceptance or popularity among traders and users.
The study also shows that Bitcoin surpassed Visa by the average number of transactions. However, DataLight decided to compare the results with other payment service providers, such as Master Card and PayPal. The results were called “amazing” and show a rather optimistic forecast for the future:
In 2018, the average volume of transactions with Bitcoin was 450 times higher than the average for Visa, and the total amount of transactions of 3.4 trillion dollars transferred from BTC in 2018 is 5.8 times higher than that of PayPal …
DataLight experts investigated Bitcoin as a payment system and compared it with the economic indicators of Visa, MasterCard and PayPal, which are presented in the annual campaign reports for 2018.
First, from a positive point of view, the team noted that Bitcoin exceeds PayPal in terms of transaction volume. However, it still lags behind Visa and Mastercard. It is possible that in the near future BTC and Master will change positions.
However, they stressed that, according to their research, Bitcoin is the best option for sending large amounts of money, ahead of Visa, not only in processing time, but also at a lower cost associated with such transactions.
Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency in the world, and its code is still flawed. However, with all the flaws, BTC is still many hundreds of times faster than existing bank transfers. The BTC is so small that you can transfer millions of dollars to a dozen cents. For this reason, many financial institutions find it so attractive.
But DataLight experts also argue that Bitcoin must go a long way before we can talk about mass adoption. Its 25 million accounts in 2018 are insignificant compared to more than 5 billion Visa and Mastercard cards worldwide.
The report ends with a rather optimistic forecast, which states that if Bitcoin continues to grow, it is quite possible that in the next decade it will become the most efficient payment method for society:
In just 10 years, Bitcoin was able to compete with the leaders of the payment system industry. The development of Bitcoin occurs in a geometrical progression … If it keeps this pace, then in 10 years it will surpass all competitors.
And what do you think about this?
