Cryptocurrency has become one of the more difficult tech developments in decades to gauge. Typically when a new technology comes along we can clearly track its growth and expansion, or its failure. With the cryptocurrency way, however, there is so much ongoing development, and there are so many pros and cons, different uses, and applications, potential hurdles, etc. that it’s virtually impossible to come up with any sort of overarching analysis. All we can really say, in vague terms, is that the cryptocurrency sector is still growing, and society is slowly searching for its most useful and valuable purposes.
If this is the case though it at least implies some slower growth than was expected. At least as a means of replacing or establishing viable alternatives for traditional currency, crypto hasn’t taken off as some thought it might. So we’re taking stock of some of the factors that may be holding it back in this regard.
Wallet & Exchange Complexity
Bitstamp is noted as a popular choice for crypto enthusiasts, for example, and Bitfinex can be described as best for intermediate and advanced traders. This isn’t meant to imply these platforms are too difficult, but it does speak to the idea that a lot of exchanges and wallets are still fairly complex for beginners specifically. As long as this remains the case and there isn’t massive incentive to switch to cryptocurrency (which there currently isn’t), it’s going to hold cryptocurrency back from mass adoption.
Literature
By literature, we simply mean that wheat’s written about cryptocurrency doesn’t typically do it many favors. We can’t measure this claim exactly, but if you pretend you know nothing about cryptocurrency and then read the average article about bitcoin, you can see how it might read as gibberish to a large portion of the population. We seem to be living in a sort of early stage of crypto industry in which people haven’t figured out how to make the language more accessible to newcomers, and this too could be preventing widespread adoption or use. We do have some pointers to where you could start by reading some of these cryptocurrency books.
PayPal
When you really delve into the purposes of both entities, PayPal and cryptocurrency aren’t necessarily competitors. That said, PayPal does seem to be heading off cryptocurrency in some areas that might otherwise incentivize use. This is true in that PayPal is used with a huge number of online merchants, as well as in the company’s relatively recent spread in the online gaming community. As a safe and legal option that protects privacy and financial data, PayPal has become a natural partner for casino sites online – just as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have attempted to break into the same industry, and only done so on a smaller scale. In this way, PayPal could be said to be holding crypto back.
Chain Merchants
This is an idea that speaks for itself. There are more and more merchants accepting cryptocurrency, but major chains, for the most part, aren’t on board. If you imagine something like a Starbucks, McDonald’s, or Walgreens making the move to accept cryptocurrency payments in person, you begin to see what a detriment this is to the technology’s expansion.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is still so far out in front in terms of its value that it could be said to be holding back the broader cryptocurrency movement. Many believe that bitcoin’s future is still bright despite a burst bubble late in 2017 and into 2018, which means this may not be changing anytime soon. There is almost undoubtedly space for multiple cryptocurrencies to succeed in major ways. But for now, bitcoin is the standard bearer, which means any good or bad developments associated with it trickle into the public perception of cryptocurrency in general.
Final Words
The progress and mass adoption towards the cryptocurrency way is a roller coaster ride ahead and what that means is cryptocurrency market crashes and inconveniently high values (for spending, that is), before settling down.
