When we think of Bitcoin adoption, we tend to focus on the price rally that will no doubt come with it. When people in the mainstream start using Bitcoin to buy normal products, the price of Bitcoin will fly as more people start to buy and spend it. Of course, one drawback of adoption is that eventually, this rally will come to an end and many believe that once Bitcoin does hit the mainstream, it’s price will finally become more stable, otherwise, why would anyone bother using it to make everyday purchases? Bitcoin adoption will impact society, it will impact investors and it will impact all of the cryptocurrency markets. I must point out that we’re not saying that Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that will get adopted here, however, what we are saying is that Bitcoin is most likely to see mass adoption first. It’s a notorious cryptocurrency and it’s one that will easily fit into our everyday lives. Research by Transparency Market Research predicts that as a direct result of Bitcoin adoption, the overall value of ‘cryptocurrency’ as a market will reach $6.7 Billion by 2025, up from a value of $574.3 Million as recorded in 2017. Simply put, the research finds that as more people use Bitcoin, the value of cryptocurrency, on the whole, will increase. Now, remember, this isn’t referring to the value of the currencies or their market capitalisation, this is the value of the cryptocurrency market, as a standalone market of its own.According to a press release by FinancialBuzz.com:
“The market growth is attributable to bitcoin's widespread adoption. Bitcoin has had a meteoric rise because it is becoming increasingly popular as a method for payment solution transactions. While bitcoin is the main and more commonly known cryptocurrency, there are other ones such as Ethereum and Ripple. Coins like Ethereum are being leveraged in the financial industry for smart contracts, while other coins may simply just be used as a form of a decentralized currency. The multi-faceted uses of cryptocurrency have introduced many new applications and will introduce even more, especially for the global financial industry. Netcoins Holdings Inc, Starbucks Corporation, HSBC Holdings plc, Nasdaq, Inc, Sony Corporation.”Bitcoin adoption is already happening We talk about Bitcoin adoption as a product of the future, however, Bitcoin adoption is happening now. The aforementioned companies are all now exploring Bitcoin and blockchain technology and a number of real life, brick and mortar stores now accept Bitcoin payments too. Across the globe, major UK cities are seeing the rollout of Bitcoin ATMs. All in all, Bitcoin adoption is not going to occur at a set point in time, rather it is going to be a long process that sees a lot of developments on the way.Evidence for this adoptionWe want to explore the companies mentioned earlier to provide some evidence with regards to just how Bitcoin adoption is starting to take hold. We are seeing major companies exploring this technology and we know that once big brands back Bitcoin, customers will follow. Bitcoin adoption works from the top down. Get the executives on board and it surely won’t be long before the customers follow on. Consumers like to be told what’s good at the end of the day.Netcoins Holdings incNetcoins Holdings inc trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange and operates across 150,000+ retail locations in Canada. With this in mind, we can only imagine the sheer reach and scale of this company. Recently, Netcoins entered a partnership with a voucher company that now allows Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to be exchanged for vouchers that can be spent in all 150,000+ retail locations. This is literally the essence of Bitcoin adoption. According to FinancialBuzz.com, the CEO of Netcoins, Mark Binns has said:
“This expansion increases our reach by 7x, and helps us make purchasing crypto easier and more accessible for the everyday consumer. The team at Netcoins is always executing, and we are excited that effective today these 150,000+ locations can start selling vouchers that can be redeemed for crypto via Netcoins. Our retail network is an integral part of our offering, and we are thrilled to be providing a global retail crypto solution. The Company is in the business of developing software to make the purchase and sale of cryptocurrency easily accessible to the mass consumer and investor through brokerage services. Netcoins enables crypto transactions via 171,000+ retail locations globally and an Over-The-Counter (OTC) trading desk."StarbucksThis is just one example of Bitcoin adoption within a large company just in Canada. Now, let’s think about much bigger groups such as Starbucks and how their intervention in Bitcoin could have an impact on a global scale. According to FinancialBuzz.com:
“Starbucks Corporation since 1971, has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Intercontinental Exchange recently announced that it plans to form a new company, Bakkt, working with Starbucks, BCG and Microsoft, which intends to leverage Microsoft cloud solutions to create an open and regulated, global ecosystem for digital assets. The new company will create an integrated platform that enables consumers and institutions to buy, sell, store and spend digital assets on a seamless global network.”Furthermore, Maria Smith, the Vice President for Partnerships & Payments has said:
"As the flagship retailer, Starbucks will play a pivotal role in developing practical, trusted and regulated applications for consumers to convert their digital assets into US dollars for use at Starbucks. As a leader in Mobile Pay to our more than 15 million Starbucks Rewards members, Starbucks is committed to innovation for expanding payment options for our customers."Now, let’s just consider just how many people use Starbucks. It’s huge. Does this mean that Starbucks will one day start accepting Bitcoin payments? Probably not, but this is a big step in the right direction for Bitcoin adoption. SonyAnother huge group mentioned within this press release - Sony, the international entertainment company behind Xperia and PlayStation. Sony have recently announced that they are establishing their own form of blockchain technology, built from the architecture first established by Bitcoin and the mind(s) behind it.According to FinancialBuzz.com:
“Sony Global Education recently announced the development of a rights management system for digital content that utilizes blockchain technology. This new system is based on Sony and Sony Global Education's previously developed system for authenticating, sharing, and rights management of educational data, and additionally features functionality for processing rights-related information. Sony Global Education is continuously carrying out technological development and prototyping towards the use of blockchain technology in the educational field. This newly developed system can be utilized to manage educational materials and other forms of content used in the field of education, and Sony Global Education is considering its possible commercialization as a service.”Now, this isn’t the direct adoption of Bitcoin, but even so, the adoption of the technology first designed by Bitcoin, by a group as huge as Sony will only do great things for Bitcoin and of course, the rest of the cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin adoption is hereBitcoin adoption is here, it’s happening and we hope that these few small examples help you to understand that. The adoption of Bitcoin is a big deal, one that promises to boost the value of the cryptocurrency markets and one that promises to not only make crypto cool but to also change the way we all spend money on our everyday purchases. Investment Disclaimer