Deutsche Bank: Crypto Adoption Rate Similar to Early Years of the Internet

Recently, Deutsche Bank published a research paper titled “Digital Currencies: the Ultimate Hard Power Tool” which posits that blockchain technology’s adoption rate mirrors that of the Internet in its early years. This, according to a report by Decrypt, January 27, 2020.

Crypto On Its Way to Mainstream Adoption?

A plethora of cryptocurrency advocates, over the years, have compared the pace of adoption of digital currencies to that of early years Internet when the latter was still trying hard to find its footing among the masses.

Although this comparison has often been a point of contention between the crypto camp and individuals with inclination toward traditional finance, it seems that the 2020s could prove to be a watershed decade for cryptocurrency adoption as according to a new Deutsche Bank report, the current rate of adoption of cryptocurrencies is very similar to that of the Internet during its early years.

That said, it’s important to highlight that although distributed ledger technology’s (DLT) adoption rate is very similar to that of the Internet, its actual user numbers are an order of magnitude smaller.

According to the above chart shared by Deutsche Bank, the Internet witnessed close to 500 million users after eight years of its existence. In contrast, the number of users of cryptocurrencies during the same timeframe is roughly 10x smaller – 50 million users. Deutsche Bank added that this rate will likely remain steady for the foreseeable future.

The bank added that while the Internet reached close to four billion people in less than 25 years, cryptocurrencies will reach roughly 300 million people at that point in its history.

200 Million Crypto Wallets by the End of the Decade

The report, for the large part, remains fairly optimistic about the future utility of cryptocurrencies, envisioning “a near future in which cryptocurrencies gain broad acceptance.”

The report also adds as to how cryptocurrency adoption rate can potentially rocket to accentuate the process. The report reads in part:

“If the Chinese government, along with Google, Amazon, Facebook, or Apple (the so-called GAFA group), or a Chinese company like Tencent can overcome some of the barriers to cryptocurrencies, then cryptocurrencies could become more appealing.”