Crypto will eventually enjoy mass adoption, says Mastercard CEO

Crypto assets like Bitcoin, altcoins like Ethereum, stablecoins and non-fungible tokens share one goal: to be part of the global mainstream financial system.

But ideas such as anonymity, decentralization and the lack of clear frameworks that allow the digital asset class to be easily associated with illegal activities continue to slow down the process for wider acceptance and more use of digital currencies.

Actually according to data from Chainalysisafter reaching an all-time high (ATH) in the second quarter of 2021, global cryptocurrency usage declined during the third quarter of the same year as prices fell.

However, in the last three months of 2021, the adoption statistics went up again thanks to a massive rally that saw many digital currencies hitting their own ATHs.

Meanwhile, during the last two quarters of 2022, there was a noticeable decline in acceptance and usage-related numbers as the market entered a bearish cycle.

This indicated that digital currency assets still have a lot of work to do to reach the certain level of adoption they have all been wanting, a sentiment recently echoed by Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach.

Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach. Image: Crypto News.

Miebach believes crypto will be mainstream, but…

The CEO of the second largest payment processing company in the world was recently interviewed and given the chance to share his thoughts about the future of cryptocurrencies.

“I think there is a long way to go before crypto becomes mainstream,” Miebach said, adding that the particular asset class’s popularity will increase and thus become more attractive if more appropriate regulations covering it are already in place.

The Mastercard CEO pointed out that there is a significant increase in the number of large investors who are willing to put money into digital currencies, but are discouraged by the lack of comprehensive regulations.

This leaves potential investors clueless about how to safely enter the space and how to protect their assets, especially as the industry is ravaged by news of cyber attacks from time to time.

For its part, the payment company has made an effort to provide easier access to digital currency for its customers. Just recently, Mastercard partnered with Binance making buying NFTs as easy as buying a coffee.

Emerging markets dominate the global adoption index

In a report released by Chainalysis, it was revealed that the United States ranked only 5thth in the top 20 countries for global crypto adoption.

Three Asian Nations, Vietnam (1St), Philippines (2n.d) and India (4th) and Ukraine (3rd), rounded out the top-five list while Pakistan, Brazil, Thailand, Russia and China made the top 10.

Of the 20 countries ranked by the research firm, there were 10 nations under the lower middle income category while eight belong to the upper middle income group. The United States and the United Kingdom are the only two countries classified as high-income territories.

Meanwhile, among major victories achieved by cryptocurrencies in their quest for greater mass adoption, Bitcoin has been declared the legal tender in El Salvador and Tron crypto-assets achieving the same status in the Commonwealth of Dominica.

Crypto total market cap at $932 billion on the daily chart | Featured image from NPR, Chart: TradingView.com