Advisor Series: Cryptocurrency Adoption Trends Look Familiar

Transformative technologies are typically received with some skepticism at first. At the time of its inception, the internet was considered by some to be a fad that was too complex, too abstract, and too resource-heavy to catch on. Now, it’s difficult to imagine our world without it.  Cryptocurrency has, in many ways, mirrored the early adoption trends that fueled the rise of the internet.

Though internet usage was scattered in the early 90’s, it reached its inflection point in the mid-to-late 90’s and usage began to rise exponentially. By 1996, there were 77m users, which surged to 412m users in 2000 and 1.98 billion in 2010. Today, there are an estimated 4.19 billion internet users. A similar adoption curve can also be seen in subsequent web-based technology, such as smartphones and WiFi.

The current estimated number of crypto users is 200 million, but this is predicted to rise to 1 billion by 2027, an increase of 500%.

Many experts expect that crypto’s adoption rate will continue to grow in a similar way, particularly as more businesses and institutions begin to take part in this growing economy. The current estimated number of crypto users is 200 million, but this is predicted to rise to 1 billion by 2027, an increase of 500%. The graph below shows how these technologies began to accelerate in a similar way.

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With rising rates of institutional and professional adoption, plus more avenues for retail investors to use it, it seems unlikely that cryptocurrency will diminish in the coming years. As it continues to appear in more portfolios, even crypto-skeptical advisors would be wise to consider this asset class as an important part of contemporary finance.