PayPal, Visa and the Institutional Money that is changing crypto for ever.
We all have seen how the value of cryptocurrencies has skyrocketed over the past year. A big wave of institutional money coming into the market is to blame for this, bringing with it a huge avalanche of mass adoption, platforms entering the market to allow crypto trading, and many conventional banking institutions opening up to Bitcoin and the crypto revolution. Exactly one year ago, Bitcoin was priced at $6,300 and today, at the time of writing, we are close to $60k per coin and flirting with a new #ATH all time high.
Other blockchain based protocols such as DeFi (decentralized finance), Yield Farming, Derivatives such as Bitcoin Futures and Options, and the NFT furor have helped pushed these valuations to new records. NFTs alone has brought millions of non-crypto enthusiasts to buy Ethereum in order to collect NFTs or to mint their art. This is just the beginning, as many more new technologies are in development which will used the benefits of blockchain and most likely will require participants to purchase cryptocurrencies in order to be able to trade.
This week, most of the industry was focused on Paypal and the news that it will allow the purchase and trading of cryptocurrencies in their platform. Today the more than 360 million active paypal users woke up to a new feature that allowed them to buy, send and receive cryptocurrency on their app. Perhaps, paypal just gave a new crypto wallet to store and transact to all the users they have and the ability to accept crypto payments to their almost 30 million merchants. Let that sink in… this is an astronomical step if you think about. Before, we needed to learn about crypto, find a way to buy it; which at the very beginning was through very few vendors, store the coins; which at first we had to store them in paper wallets, and then either hold or find ways to utilize our coins. Today, millions woke up with a wallet and the ability to buy crypto with the touch of a bottom. Talk about Mass adoption. This week alone the price of Bitcoin went from barely $50k to close to $60k and it will continue to climb to new heights.
Visa also announced this week that credit card holders will be able to settle their payments using cryptocurrencies and, needless to say, many other credit cards and banks will have to find a way to either start offering crypto services or to push for regulation to shut it down. The divide will grow… Regardless, the crypto market will never be the same, we are never going back to where we were even a few days ago. Younger generations are comfortable buying skins and features for their video games, therefore for them the concept of NFTs and other blockchain protocols is common sense. We live in a sharing economy, frontiers do not stop us from going where we want to go and doing what we love with anyone regardless of their location, the pandemic has made us very comfortable joining on-line clases, work meetings, and clubhouse rooms. Consequently, we will grow more adaptable and open to new technologies that make our lives better and easier. All of the above will play a major role in the crypto adoption that we will continue to witness.
The future of these technologies and protocols is very exciting, promising, and quite scary for some. But like I say during my weekly radio segment on one of the largest Spanish Radio stations in California. If you are skeptical and/or afraid of these innovations, you should be even more inclined to learn about them and learn about the root of your skepticism, at least to learn about them and to learn about yourself.
Talk to you soon…
