The Crypto Landscape: Prices and Uses
When it comes to discussing crypto, two topics are constantly being brought up: price and adoption. The former is what most people talk about now, but the latter, while a less popular topic, will determine the future growth of the industry. Nevertheless, it’s important to be aware of the ongoing statistics regarding crypto, including prices, wallets, and more, to be able to discuss adoption better.
This year, the cryptocurrency industry has broken records at a breakneck pace. After breaching $1 trillion in total market capitalization in early January, it only took three months for the market cap to rise to $2 billion. At its peak, on May 12, the crypto market cap was at $2.5 trillion, before a major correction sent down the figure to $1.6 trillion as of June 17.
Bitcoin increased from $29,300 at the start of the year to as high as $64,800 in mid-April, before a 60-day market correction wiped off those gains to below-$40,000 levels. Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, more than quintupled in value at its peak this year, from $730 on January 1 to as high as $4,170 on May 11, before the recent crash sank the value to the present-day rate of about $2,400.
Prices and valuations are volatile at the moment and may lead to some bearish projections, but other crypto-related figures may signify a brighter future for cryptocurrency in general.
Recent reports have estimated that more than 100 million people are now using cryptocurrencies, for varied purposes such as trading, payments, business, and more. A third of Nigerians say they have owned or used cryptocurrencies, while one out of five Vienamese and Filipinos say the same, according to WeForum. The rise in cryptocurrency usage is apparent in the rapid increase in unique addresses across the major cryptocurrencies. Right now, there are 29 million Bitcoin addresses with any amount of BTC in them, as well as 160 million unique Ethereum addresses and about 80 million Binance Smart Chain addresses.
Moreover, there is a significant rise in the institutional use of cryptocurrencies. As of June 2021, there are at least 38 public and private companies that hold Bitcoin in their treasuries, such as Tesla, MicroStrategy, and more. There are 14 exchange-traded funds that hold Bitcoin. In addition, major payment solutions such as PayPal, MasterCard, and Visa are incorporating cryptocurrency transactions into their processes. Nowadays, mainstream adoption is not a matter of if, but when.
One of the major players in the ongoing movement to take crypto mainstream is Binance. From its beginnings as a cryptocurrency exchange, the organization has pushed the envelope when it comes to using crypto in as many ways as possible.
Binance’s Role in Increasing Crypto Utility Across the Industry
At Binance, it goes without saying that we believe in the mass adoption of cryptocurrency in the future. We have worked on bringing crypto adoption through these five areas:
1. Payments. Bitcoin was created as a visionary monetary system that solves many of the problems and inequities that exist in the current global systems. As the world’s top venue for trading Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies, Binance is in a unique position to link the Bitcoins you trade to various payment solutions that help you use crypto to its full potential.
We have built Binance Pay, a payment solution within our app that allows you to pay for transactions across thousands of merchants around the world. We have also launched Binance Card, which combines the power of crypto with the convenience of using a debit card for your payment needs. In addition, within the Binance app, you are able to store your Bitcoin safely and convert them to different forms, both fiat and crypto, depending on what you need at the moment. We also offer crypto wallet solutions like Trust Wallet, for people who need full control of their crypto assets from the comfort of their own phones.
2. Banking. Beyond customer-facing solutions, Binance is constantly working with institutions, such as banks, financial services, government agencies, and more, by the Binance P2P and its fiat-crypto channels, to facilitate the seamless use of crypto in as many avenues as possible. Progress in each region may vary, but what’s undeniable is Binance’s reach when it comes to pushing for wider crypto adoption, whether at the grassroots level through our hundreds of crypto communities, or at the offices of decision-makers through the relentless work and cooperation we secure with our growing number of partners and collaborators.
3. DeFi. Binance believes in the power of decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions to enhance existing financial services. Our ongoing collaboration with the Binance Smart Chain community to support DeFi solutions for borrowing, lending, staking, and farming cryptocurrencies have unlocked opportunities for people outside traditional finance to secure the funds they need to enhance their lives.
4. NFT. As a constant supporter of blockchain innovations, especially those that have brought major impact to the world, Binance is opening up its own NFT Marketplace, where artists, influencers, and creators can ply their craft and unlock earning opportunities previously unavailable to them. Once you’ve shown as a creator that you deserve the spotlight, you will undoubtedly get Featured by Binance.
5. Crypto-Finance. Beyond its popular trading platform, Binance also hosts a suite of crypto-financial solutions that give crypto users access to boost their crypto portfolios. An important part of this is Binance Earn, where crypto holders get access to staking, farming, liquidity pool, and other crypto-financial services while conveniently keeping their funds secure within the Binance ecosystem.
Closing Thoughts
In the short term, the most prominent crypto use case is for investing and making money for crypto users, traders, and holders. By building a top-notch exchange, Binance was able to hit the ground running in terms of crypto adoption on that front. It’s with this technical experience that we are building the next phases of growth for the crypto industry.
In the long run, we believe that crypto solutions will cover just about every facet of life, and that blockchain will be the underlying infrastructure of the industry. This is what Binance is building and providing to the industry. These solutions, like foundations in a skyscraper, may lie beneath the surface for now, but they will be apparent by the time crypto innovations start to surface and impact global commerce in a fundamental way.
