Belief in Crypto: Market and the Numbers
Belief in Cryptocurrency in Numbers
There is near-unanimous confidence in cryptocurrencies (97%) amongst users. More than half (52%) do not consider crypto investing as a hobby, but instead as a means of income; for 15% of users, crypto is considered their primary source of income.
57% of the general population have more than half of their invested wealth in cryptocurrencies. 55% of the general population owns crypto as part of their long-term savings plan.
According to Binance Founder & CEO “ right now crypto is population-wise 5% adopted globally. So out of 8 billion people, probably 400–500 million have it” (Bloomberg Markets and Finance, 2021).
Bitcoin, “reserve” currency with the largest market capitalization and liquidity
Bitcoin is a “peer-to-peer digital currency. Bitcoin made its debut in 2009, ushering in a new era of cryptocurrency.” (Bajpai, 2021)
The theory behind Bitcoin was first described by Satoshi Nakomoto in a paper “Bitcoin: A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System” published to a cryptographic mailing list on the 31st of October 2008. In this paper, Satoshi described the protocol (Proof of Work) that would solve the “double-spend” problem inherent in non-physical (digital) forms of currency. The first or Genesis block was mined by Satoshi on the 3rd of January 2009. The total supply of Bitcoins is capped at 21 million coins, out of which roughly 18 million are currently in circulation.
The software to run miners and wallets is open source and decentralized, meaning that the network is accessible to anyone with a computer and an internet connection. Transactions are validated and written into the blockchain by miners selected via the Proof of Work protocol.
As the flagship cryptocurrency, Bitcoin maintains the largest market capitalization and liquidity making it the “reserve” currency against which all other cryptocurrencies trade against. This means that crypto exchanges are obliged to offer BTC trading pairs ahead of any other pairing. This reserve status combined with the widespread availability of trading pairs gives Bitcoin a special status as a store of value in the crypto-currency ecosystem; trading between two alternative cryptocurrencies will often require Bitcoin as a bridge currency to facilitate the exchange.
Bitcoin is not issued, endorsed, or regulated by any central bank. It is created through a computer-generated process known as mining. It is a cryptocurrency unrelated to any government. It is a peer-to-peer payment system as it does not exist in a physical form.
Bitcoin offers a convenient way to conduct cross-border transactions with no exchange rate fees (Bajpai, 2021).
According to Tim Draper, Silicon Valley venture capitalist and investor, “Bitcoin represents trust and freedom in a world that is starting to get less of both in the fiat world. Fiats are less trusted because governments are just printing them willy-nilly to just build their own coffers” (“Draper,” 2021)
Unsurprisingly, the most popular cryptocurrency is Bitcoin which is held by 65% of those who own any crypto.
References
Bajpai, P., (August 25, 2021), Countries Where Bitcoin Is Legal and Illegal, Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/041515/countries-where-bitcoin-legal-illegal.asp
Bloomberg Technology (November 25, 2021), Why Tim Draper Is Betting Big on Crypto, Retrieved from
Bloomberg Markets and Finance (November 19, 2021), Binance CEO on Cryptocurrencies Outlook, Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB4k5VbZrOY
