Brian Armstrong, CEO of major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and prominent individual in the crypto community, has done a lot to move the cryptocurrency industry forward and is very knowledgable about the space.
When he has something to say, people listen. Which is why he recently held a live ask-me-anything (AMA) session where he answered selected questions submitted by the crypto community.
The AMA ran for 45 minutes and was filled with interesting questions and keen insights.
Armstrong kicked off the AMA with a question of popular demand: what does cryptocurrency need for mass adoption? In response, Armstrong said he believes crypto mass adoption is mostly dependent on 3 things: volatility, scalability, and usability.
Volatility: Crypto Needs More Stable Price Action
The problem with Bitcoin (BTC) and most other cryptocurrencies, other than stablecoins, is that they fluctuate drastically against the US dollar. Take Bitcoin, for example. If on a FOMO-fueled impulse you’d bought $100 worth of Bitcoin in December 2018, you would have just $25 now.
Traditional investors are not comfortable or used to this heavy volatility, which presents a much greater risk for their investable capital. Armstong stated that if the crypto markets continue to swing drastically, traditional investors will be less inclined to get involved.
To combat price volatility, Armstrong suggested that stablecoins can be used as a means of exchange, and that real-world use cases will attract more and more people to crypto, thus reducing its volatility.
Scalability: Crypto Needs to Sustain Visa and PayPal Volumes
The second thing Armstrong believes is critical to crypto mass adoption is scalability solutions.
He started off by saying there are currently 5 to 10 teams working on viable scalability solutions. He named second-layer solutions like the lightning network and next-gen protocols, which he says will begin to come out over the next 6 to 12 months.
These scaling solutions and next-gen protocols will see that cryptocurrencies reach 500-5,000 transactions per second, putting them in competition with the likes of Visa and PayPal level volumes. Once crypto can attain these volume levels, applications with millions of users will be easily supported and mass adoption can occur.
Usability: Crypto Needs To Be Easy
As many people are also aware, using cryptocurrency is not nearly as intuitive as it needs to be for mass adoption. Armstrong explained that there are too many steps when it comes to buying, selling, storing, and securing your cryptocurrency. He stated that retail investors need something that works as well as the popular Chinese app, WeChat.
Adding to this he said:
“We need to get usability simpler and simpler and simpler. Kind of like having the Netscape moment or the iPhone moment.”
Armstrong couldn’t be more right on this point, as previously reported by IIB, 75% of crypto holders still fear the failure of sending transactions while sending crypto. In order for crypto mass adoption to occur, managing your crypto has to be as easy using a common messaging app.
Final Thoughts
Armstrong’s 3 points for crypto mass adoption are being worked on at this very moment. New developments to improve crypto’s scalability, usability, and even volatility are in the works, and Coinbase may be leading the way on this front.
For instance, Coinbase is already known to be one of the most user-friendly crypto exchanges available. What’s more, they are now tackling crypto’s usability and volatility problems with the launch of their new Coinbase Visa card which allows users to spend their crypto in-store and online at millions of merchants.
Crypto mass adoption may be closer than you think, as the solutions to the crypto mass adoption problems are already being developed and released.
Do you think we will begin to see cryptocurrencies being widely adopted among mainstream users this year? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
