In the last decade, cryptocurrencies have gone from being a niche hobby among tech enthusiasts to an increasingly popular form of investment and a method of payment that’s being accepted in more and more places. A survey carried out by Deloitte makes this clear: 75% of retailers are preparing to accept crypto as a means of payment, and more than half have already invested to adapt their platforms in order to make it possible.
As I wrote in my recent article in Newsweek, this is just another example of how the adoption of crypto continues to disprove the alarmists’ constant declarations of its death, something that still fails to materialize. On the contrary, those capable of a longer term outlook are proving that crypto has valuable applications that are full of potential as the market continues to grow amid the weaknesses demonstrated by FIAT currency.
One of crypto’s biggest impacts has been as a vehicle that can allow those who live in countries with high inflation to protect their income. In Turkey, Argentina and Lebanon, people can buy stablecoins to prevent their income from depreciating at the rate of their FIAT currency. However, as I commented in my column in Forbes, those who opt to buy first-generation cryptocurrencies expecting a short-term profit may find themselves disappointed because of the market’s volatility.
One option for these people is to invest long term in a new-generation cryptocurrency whose stability is backed by assets. Unlike their predecessors, these coins are not anonymous, and they offer an alternative both to the problem of inflation in FIAT currencies and to the extreme volatility of the first cryptocurrencies. These are audited crypto assets that can improve access to wealth even in sectors of the population that have been traditionally excluded from the banking system. For many, the question is no longer whether crypto is the path but rather how long it will take to establish itself as the public’s preferred option.
