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Cryptocurrency Adoption Set to Exceed One Billion Users by 2026, Experts Predict

Cryptocurrency adoption is poised to surpass the significant milestone of one billion users, potentially as early as 2026.

Pavlo Denysiuk, CEO of crypto payments firm Lunu, predicts that the number of cryptocurrency holders could triple in the next two years if current growth trends continue.

Speaking at NFT Fest 2024, Denysiuk stated:

“Within two years there will be at least two times or three times more crypto holders worldwide.

“This is where we get more adoption everywhere and in terms of payments as well.”

The 2024 Cryptocurrency Ownership report by Triple-A estimates there are around 560 million crypto holders globally, which equates to approximately 6.8% of the world’s population.

Crypto adoption is expected to accelerate once the necessary infrastructure is established.

With nearly 7% of the global population holding cryptocurrency, broader acceptance of crypto payments is imminent.

Denysiuk asserts that mainstream companies like Starbucks adopting crypto payment infrastructure will drive this change:

“[Crypto payment adoption] is not something that you need to convince someone of.

“Whenever the infrastructure is there, whenever you come to your Starbucks shop or somewhere else and there is a sticker saying ‘we accept crypto.’”

He further explained that crypto payments are comparable to current digital payment methods such as credit cards and neobank-enabled payments, which are already widely used.

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Denysiuk leads Berlin-based Lunu, a company focused on creating a stablecoin-powered payments ecosystem to facilitate economic integrations.

Stablecoins play a crucial role in mass adoption, but improving user experience remains the biggest challenge. According to Denysiuk:

“Stablecoins are very important for adoption.

“In our case, we almost never see people paying in Bitcoin, even though Bitcoin was invented as a digital currency.”

The stablecoin market is valued at over $163 billion, representing 7.7% of the entire crypto market’s $2.11 trillion market capitalization, as reported by CoinMarketCap.

However, achieving the first billion crypto users will require more beginner-friendly applications. Chintan Turakhia, senior director of engineering at Coinbase, emphasized the need for streamlined user experiences:

“If our goal is to bring in the next billion users — and let’s start with just 100 million — we have to take all those friction points out.”


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Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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