The current massive downturn in cryptocurrency markets feels strikingly different than previous ones. Amidst the all too familiar and assertions that , I’m starting to see clear signs of meaningful adoption beyond speculation. proclamations of Bitcoin’s death cryptocurrency is a scam These are some of the forces that I believe will gradually propel cryptocurrency that separates starry-eyed early adopters from the pragmatic members of the early majority whose support is required for mainstream adoption. across the chasm Institutional Adoption Some of the world’s largest and most influential institutions are embracing cryptocurrency with open arms. is a startup owned by the operator of the New York Stock Exchange. With help from Microsoft, Starbucks, and the Boston Consulting Group, Bakkt is that will help institutions and consumers easily store and spend digital currencies. Bakkt’s CEO that Starbucks intends to give customers the ability to pay with Bitcoin. Bakkt launching a suite a products recently stated Fidelity Investments (responsible for over $2 trillion in assets), has launched a to provide enterprise-grade custody and execution services for institutional investors. Digital Assets Platform Nasdaq’s CEO has to becoming a platform for trading cryptocurrencies. Nasdaq is for cryptocurrency exchange Gemini and is planning to next year. stated the exchange is open providing its market surveillance technology list Bitcoin futures The , , Nasdaq, and Fidelity have all . Chicago Board Options Exchange TD Ameritrade invested in cryptocurrency exchange ErisX Yale’s endowment manager , and Stanford University is one of many prominent schools that has launched an and focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. recently invested in two crypto funds academic research center courses The state of Ohio is allowing businesses and individuals to . pay taxes with Bitcoin Square has since adding it to its in January. Robinhood, one of the most popular investment apps for millennials, this year. made small profits on Bitcoin sales Cash App added support for cryptocurrencies Continued adoption of cryptocurrency by respected institutions will gradually increase trust in the technology. Decentralized Applications Ethereum was designed to serve as a decentralized world computer, powered by a cryptocurrency (Ether), on which anyone could build and access unstoppable applications. After years of development, we’re finally starting to see some of these applications go live. is a decentralized prediction market where users can bet on the . The platform has a , but saw a surge of activity during the . There is an demonstrating the societal beyond making it easy for people to bet. Augur launched on Ethereum’s Mainnet in July 2018 and Guesser recently published a . Augur outcome of any event small user base 2018 U.S. midterm elections abundance of literature value of prediction markets great overview of the state of the project is a distributed supercomputing network. Users can to a global network of computers, and earn money for renting out their computer’s processing power to the network. The platform should provide an environment where computing tasks can be completed more quickly, and at a lower cost than when relying on a single computer. Golem is currently in public beta. Golem outsource computational tasks is a decentralized file storage system. Instead of hosting files in “the cloud” (server farms managed by large corporations) files are spliced up, spread across a peer-to-peer , and can only be re-assembled by the owner. Users could benefit from , increased privacy, and the ability to earn money by renting out idle hard drive space. Former Docker CEO Ben Golub is the current Executive Chairman and interim CEO of StorJ. StorJ is currently in public alpha. StorJ global network of computers cheaper costs Current usage of Dapps is negligible, but these are still early days. Economic Crises Venezuelan citizens have been as the government has destroyed the value of their national currency through hyperinflation. using cryptocurrency to survive Cryptocurrency trading activity has surged in and as both countries have been plagued with economic and political crises. Turkey Zimbabwe , founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, is one of the more prominent voices warning that the . He believes Federal Reserve policies could lead to a 30% depreciation of the dollar. Ray Dalio U.S. dollar’s status as world reserve currency is in danger If one of the world’s major currencies suffers from a loss of confidence, some people are likely to start taking a closer look at cryptocurrencies. Social Media Networks , , , , , and are cryptocurrency-powered social networks that have achieved varying levels of usage. Steemit Cent Y’alls Minds Bitchute Peepeth These sites allow users to earn money for sharing and curating content, and Cent makes it incredibly easy for users to earn crypto without having to purchase it, eliminating one of the major barriers to entry. If these platforms users allow users to easily earn money while creating and sharing valuable content, they will grow. Entertainment/Media Platforms and Applications is an entertainment studio that has launched a crowdfunding portal for artists called and is building a peer-to-peer content distribution platform powered by an . SingularDTV Tokit Ethereum-based cryptoasset DJ and electronic music producer Gramatik raised using Tokit. The studio’s first film, a documentary called premiered in October. indie science fiction film premiered in theaters in November, has received from critics so far, and will make its . $2.25 million in less than a day Trust Machine SXSW award-winning Prospect positive reviews digital debut on SingularDTV is a platform for audio distribution, attestation, and monetization that uses two as the foundation for an . The team has backing from Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and employees and advisors that have worked at Twitch, EA Games, Google, Microsoft, and Bittorrent. Audius Ethereum-based cryptoassets open-source alternative to Spotify and SoundCloud Video games like , , and are demonstrating how cryptocurrency-powered open blockchains could enable true ownership of game assets for players and the creation of assets that can be carried across different game worlds. Zombie BattleGround God’s Unchained Crypto Space Commander, Project Genesis Quality content, enjoyable user experiences, and increased control and revenues from successfully cutting out middlemen will attract content creators and consumers. Supply Chain Management Solutions is building a platform that uses Ethereum’s blockchain to keep all parties involved in a transaction in sync and removes the friction and obstacles of traditional commerce. Their system makes use of . Sweetbridge two Ethereum-based cryptoassets They are one of the first companies to be , and a winner of Lufthansa’s . Former director of the U.S. Mint . accepted into the state of Arizona’s FinTech sandbox program Aviation Blockchain challenge Ed Moy recently joined Sweetbridge as an advisor is working with Ethereum-based decentralized organization to into their . Their CEO is a former CIO at Maersk (the world’s largest shipping company) and the team includes several other former employees of the shipping giant. Blockshipping MakerDAO integrate the stable cryptocurrency DAI operations is a cloud-based business platform focused on supply chain payments, marketplaces, and applications. Their platform currently serves 1.5 million companies across the globe, have customers such as HSBC, Siemens and Volvo, and annually. They are also working with MakerDAO, leveraging DAI in order to . Tradeshift process over half a trillion dollars in transaction value democratize access to to financing for the world’s small businesses Cryptocurrencies hold enormous potential to increase the efficiency of supply chain operations by decreasing transaction fees, time to complete payments, and reliance on central intermediaries to facilitate transactions. Energy Production and Distribution Systems has developed a that aim to lower costs, increase efficiency, and drive green energy usage by helping consumers access wholesale energy markets. Their platform makes use of to facilitate access to their network. Grid+ suite of products two Ethereum-based cryptoassets They’ve , a in the state of Texas, and have already started in Texas who . received a grant from the United States Department of Energy license to sell retail energy supplying energy to customers prefer the service to traditional energy providers The allows investors across the globe to buy and lease solar cells and receive rental income from their holdings (in Bitcoin or national currencies) through a blockchain-based payment system. Sun Exchange If these types of services are able to provide increased access to energy and lower costs of obtaining energy, consumers will adopt them. Conclusion A recently published conducted by researchers at The University of Cambridge estimates that there are over 139 million cryptocurrency users (38% of which are “active”), up from less than 10 million that were measured in the 2017 version of the study. global benchmarking study I’ve only highlighted a sample of the areas where cryptocurrencies are starting to provide some value beyond speculation to a small group of users. So long as entrepreneurs and technologists continue making steady progress towards addressing scaling limitations and improving user experiences, and regulators don’t take extreme measures to stifle the technology’s adoption, there’s no reason not to expect continued growth. For me, the question isn’t if mass adoption will take place but rather when, and in what form?
