Seven extraordinary tidbits on global crypto and blockchain adoption
The adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain has grown exponentially over the past couple of years, this is common knowledge. It is also expected that this growth will continue well into the foreseeable future, with no sign of slowing down. However, most individuals in the space don’t recognize just how colossal this growth has been, and how massive the projected growth in adoption is in the future. So, for this post, I will be sharing seven tidbits on global cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption to help put things in to perspective.
1. Massive growth forecast for the Lightning Network
One bold prediction forecasts that the Lightning Network will be a staple in the lives of hundreds of millions in the not-so-distant future. According to the recent “State of the Lightning” report published by Arcane Research, it estimated that there will be 700 million users of the Lightning Network by 2030, and a minimum of 364 trillion Lightning transactions per year.
2. Crypto adoption in the Global South
Many don’t realize the truly global nature of cryptocurrency, and how it is being rapidly adopted by countries outside of North America and Europe. In fact, according to Chainalysis’ 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index, 85% of the top 20 countries in adoption are located in Asia, Africa, and South America. This demonstrates the extraordinary appeal of cryptocurrency in the Global South, and how quickly it is being adopted in these areas.
3. Crypto donations are skyrocketing
More and more non-profit organizations are accepting crypto donations each day, and more value is flowing through blockchains to these organizations, supporting important social causes. This is evidenced by the fact that The Giving Block, one of the largest facilitators of cryptocurrency donations, is on pace to process over $100 Million in crypto donations this year and is projecting $1 Billion in donations to flow through their platform in 2022.
4. NFT ecosystem experiencing monumental growth
NFTs have been all the rage lately as they have experienced monumental growth that could not have been predicted a couple of years back. In fact, from Q2 to Q3 2021, NFT sales surged from $1.3B to $10.7B according to DappRadar, and this growth doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
5. Higher Education is catching on to the value of crypto and blockchain
Universities are quickly getting on board with cryptocurrency and blockchain. In fact, dozens of top tier universities are now offering courses in blockchain and crypto including but not limited to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cornell University, University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, Harvard University, Columbia University, and many, many, more. A number of universities have also set up blockchain initiatives and student groups including Stanford, Harvard, and Berkley, among others.
6. Only one company is larger than the combined market cap of cryptocurrency
At the time of publication of this blog post, the total combined market cap of all cryptocurrencies sits at just over 2.3 trillion. When compared with the largest companies in the world, this puts crypto just behind only one company, Apple, which at the time of publication, has a market cap of 2.362 trillion.
7. Number of blockchain wallets growing at an exponential rate
In the past five years alone, the number of blockchain wallet users has skyrocket. At the beginning of 2016, the number of blockchain wallet users was roughly 5.8 million. Today, the number of users is roughly 76.6 million, representing over 1300% growth in the past five years.
Do you have any other interesting stats, projections, or thoughts on the growth of global crypto adoption? Tweet us at @Crypto_Altruism, we’d love to hear from you!
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