Raising awareness of Bitcoin’s impact on society is key to further adoption

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Bitcoin may not be the world’s reserve currency yet, but the tide seems to be turning in favor of much wider adoption.

Many believe Bitcoin already has reached a point of critical mass from which it will not return. Over the past decade, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency has cemented its popularity as a store of value, an investment, an alternative asset, and a secure, internet-based payment rail that knows no borders. It has come a long way and is already well beyond subsistence, but the goal of mass adoption remains out of reach.

Since it was first introduced in a white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008, Bitcoin has grown and developed to such an extent that the digital future of the world can now be re-imagined. Nakamoto proposed that Bitcoin could serve as a “system of electronic payments” capable of operating in a permissionless manner. It was a revolutionary creation that has matured to such an extent that many today believe the broader cryptocurrency market is slowly but surely disconnecting from traditional finance to stand on its own two feet as a truly alternative form of money.

Bitcoin adoption has grown in virtually every country in the world. Not only is it recognized by forward-thinking enthusiasts in developed countries such as the US, UK, Australia and Japan. These days, it has seen rapidly increasing adoption in emerging markets across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

ONE recent study by Forrester Research on behalf of cryptocurrency exchange AAX found that Bitcoin adoption has risen in recent years in emerging markets, and not just as a speculative investment like most users in the West. Rather, Bitcoin is enjoying increasingly widespread use as a store of value and medium of exchange.

The findings in Forrester’s report were eye-opening. In the Middle East and Southeast Asia, Bitcoin is increasingly being adopted as a means of money management. Because of its unique ability to escape broader macroeconomic conditions, Bitcoin has empowered consumers in these regions to become financially independent. As a result, it has seen increased use as a store of value, with consumers relying on Bitcoin to preserve the value of their savings, invest with a view to making money, and hedge against risky investments elsewhere.

Bitcoin has taken a slightly different path in Africa and Latin America, where it has also seen increasing adoption. In these markets, a growing number of consumers are using Bitcoin exactly as intended — making transactions, using it to buy and sell goods and services, transfer money to friends and family and more, Forrester’s study found.

Racing towards global adoption

The big dream of all Bitcoin fanatics is that the cryptocurrency will one day establish itself as the world’s standard currency, upgrading the likes of the US dollar, Euro, British pound and even the gold standard. It is hoped that the world will voluntarily switch to using Bitcoin as a daily means of payment, rejecting traditional fiat currencies. Proponents say that Bitcoin could be the basis for a fairer, more transparent and accessible financial system that governments will not be able to manipulate. Also, Bitcoin is anti-deflationary, meaning that consumers will not see their bank account savings wither away due to the rising cost of goods and services.

For many people, this vision sounds impossible to achieve. Despite its meteoric rise, Bitcoin still has millions of critics who insist it’s nothing more than a gimmick or a fad, or worse, accuse it of being some kind of Ponzi scheme that will soon collapse.

However, there are reasons to believe in Bitcoin’s staying power, not least the growing fear that the world’s fiat currencies will soon be hit by runaway inflation. If that happens, people are more likely to see Bitcoin as a more stable option to keep their money.

Others believe that the upcoming launch of The central bank’s digital currencies in major economies can help spur Bitcoin’s adoption. If the world’s governments insist that people move to digital money and awareness of how it works grows, many consumers may see Bitcoin as a superior option due to its fixed supply and decentralized nature.

Then again, there may be other nations that choose to follow the path of El Salvador and embrace Bitcoin as a legitimate currency to escape restrictions placed on them by bodies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Bitcoin education is key

Perhaps the most important driver of Bitcoin’s continued use will be education. As Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s founding fathers, once said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

That was certainly true for Bitcoin’s earliest adopters who acquired hundreds of BTC cheaply and carried on become millionaires in fiat terms.

Education is critical to adoption. By teaching people about Bitcoin, the number of users can only grow, until it reaches a point where the network effect is unstoppable. To reach this point, people must first be made aware that Bitcoin is a thing.

Although it may seem like most people are at least aware of Bitcoin, there are still millions of people in the world who are still ignorant of what it is and how it works. A February 2021 report from Crypto.com estimated that there are around 100 million individuals in the world who own some Bitcoin. It is an impressive number, but still only a drop in the ocean compared to the world’s population of 7.9 billion. Less than 2% of the world’s population currently uses Bitcoin.

That means there is still a lot of work to be done, and it is the responsibility of Bitcoin advocates to carry it out.

For now, Bitcoin is still in the early stages of adoption. As with all new products and technologies, it falls to the early adopters, or innovators, to educate the rest about Bitcoin’s value and its practical applications. Those who use Bitcoin now will play a crucial role in encouraging others to start using it as well.

The good news is that the Bitcoin community is already working hard to raise awareness. We’ve seen countless communities pop up all over the world, with hundreds of media publications, podcasts and influencers all dedicated to educating the masses about what Bitcoin is and the value it can bring. Most crypto companies also play their part. For example, cryptocurrency exchanges such as Coinbase provide one learning platform which enables users to learn about Bitcoin and other tokens and earn rewards for doing so. Then there are others, such as AAX, with its AAX Academy that offers continuous insight about the latest trends and events in the crypto industry.

These efforts are helping millions of people better understand Bitcoin and crypto, but more efforts are needed if we are to achieve mass adoption. From simple topics like how to create and use a Bitcoin wallet to understanding how financial derivatives work on the Bitcoin Lightning Network, much more learning remains.

One of the best ways to accelerate Bitcoin adoption is to bring education to the masses. Courses on how Bitcoin works and the potential positive effects it can have on society should be offered in schools and universities. Children, who are just beginning to understand how money and economics work, should be taught that there is an alternative and potentially superior system available that is based on the idea of ​​decentralization.

Learning Bitcoin’s impact

Moreover, Bitcoin should not be positioned only as a speculative investment that can make people rich. Rather, education must focus on the impact Bitcoin can have on society at large. Making money is nice, but changing the world and distributing wealth more evenly would be a much better achievement.

In a recent post on AAX Insights, AAX head of research and strategy Ben Caselin highlights the real impact Bitcoin is having in emerging markets around the world and changing people’s lives for the better. A key benefit that people see in Bitcoin is its utility as a hedge against oppressive governments, Caselin said. Those who face persecution, they can easily be excluded from the traditional banking system. With Bitcoin, that is no longer possible, which means it can serve as a tool to retain financial autonomy.

At the same time, digital assets can be moved anywhere in the world, easily and almost instantly. All it takes is for someone to remember the 12-word seed phrase, and they can access their Bitcoin funds from anywhere via an Internet-connected device.

“At its core, Bitcoin is intended to restore freedom, enhance personal agency and provide a safeguard against tyranny,” Caselin said.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen all kinds of reports about how institutional investors are buying up Bitcoin, how big companies like Tesla are accepting it for payment, and how traders are making millions through complex mechanisms for trading spot prices. These kinds of stories are encouraging and help promote Bitcoin, no doubt, but it’s education about the real-world use cases that will make the difference.

We need to raise awareness of immigrants in Europe sending money back to their families in Benin, and households in Venezuela using Bitcoin to protect their savings against hyperinflation that people really need to hear about. These are the stories that show the real and positive impact Bitcoin is having on the world.

As Caselin says, “influence will drive adoption.”