Crypto could onboard over 2b people next decade, Coinbase CEO says

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently tweeted that crypto could onboard over 2 billion people in the next decade if adoption continues. 

Crypto adoption and usability have been a matter of contention within the blockchain community, with people speculating that crypto already has good adoption. For instance, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently tweeted that at the moment, “There is quite a lot of usage beyond speculation also.”

He also highlighted that crypto having about 2 to 300 million people who have at least looked into it in just a decade, is incredible. Armstrong noted that crypto could onboard about 2 to 3 billion people in the next ten years if adoption continues similarly. 

According to Armstrong, the major unlocks in the case are the scalability afforded by layer-2 solutions and regulatory clarity. Moreover, he noted that usability is also vital in crypto adoption over the next decade. 

Crypto regulation curbs growth

This tweet from Brian Armstrong was in response to a Twitter thread posted by @_blakewest, which talked about how crypto would have grown in the past decade were it not for regulations. 

The tweet noted that people are mocking crypto and its value when it has existed for only ten years and has been fought by regulators. Blake even gave a list of possible crypto use cases that could be tried to foster crypto adoption.

For instance, Blake highlighted that crypto could be used in providing an instant stock trade settlement system, which could eliminate the fees charged by clearing houses. While that’s possible, regulators still deny crypto the option of listing securities on-chain. 

Blake also mentioned it’s possible to create exchanges that comply with regulations connected to assets like real estate, loans, etc., but leveraging blockchain. However, the rules for that in the US are extreme.

Blake also noted that regulatory reporting would be cheaper autonomously on the chain.

Banks could offer “instant 24/7 transactions among accounts.” However, the law discourages banks from holding crypto or using blockchain for deposits. 

Stablecoins could be used in making direct payments to merchants with zero card fees. However, the popular stablecoin Diem, which could do that, was declared illegal.

Based on Blake, crypto’s current slagging adoption is mainly because of regulatory issues.