A recent university study has endorsed Bitcoin as the next level in the evolution of money. Researchers at Imperial College London believe that cryptocurrencies are poised for mass adoption. The study which was sponsored by eToro examined the barriers to trust and mainstream adoption currently being faced by the emerging cryptocurrency movement.
Cryptocurrency is the Next Step for Money
Since its emergence in 2009, the debate has always been about whether Bitcoin could replace fiat money. Even with more than 1,600 other virtual tokens, most of the attention in the crypto world revolves around Bitcoin. For researchers at Imperial College, cryptos could become mainstream within the next decade.
Commenting on the conclusions of the study, William Knottenbelt, an Imperial College professor said:
The world of cryptocurrency is evolving as rapidly as the considerable collection of confusing terminology that accompanies it. There’s a lot of skepticism over cryptocurrencies and how they could ever become a day-to-day payment system used by the man on the street. In this research, we show that cryptocurrencies have already made significant headway towards fulfilling the criteria for becoming a widely accepted method of payment.
The brokerage firm, eToro, sponsors of the research already believe that Bitcoin exhibits the important characteristics of money. According to the firm, cryptocurrencies are also designed to fulfill the fundamental properties of money which are a store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account.
Speaking on the research, Iqbal Gandham, the managing director of eToro UK office, said:
The first ever bitcoin transaction took place a little over eight years ago, and today we are already seeing it begin to meet the requirements of everyday money. Given the speed of adoption, we believe that we could see Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on the high street within the decade. There are of course barriers to mainstream adoption, but they are far from insurmountable.
Regulations Likely to Make or Break Bitcoin
Regulations have been identified as the pivotal metric that may make or break Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Some governments around the world have taken a negative stance towards crypto. According to them, cryptocurrencies serve as a conduit for criminal activities due to their anonymous transactions.
For Gandham, Bitcoin is already a store of value. However, for it to become a medium of exchange and a unit of value, then favorable regulations are required. Also, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will have to solve protocol issues such as scalability.
Do you agree with the researchers that Bitcoin is the next step in the evolution of money? How soon do you predict that cryptocurrencies will become widely used in mainstream commerce? Keep the conversation going in the comment section below.
