No matter which media outlet you are following, it is next to impossible to miss a story about Bitcoin, Ethereum and the overall cryptocurrency space. Decentralized computing is no longer something only the tech savviest talk about; suddenly just about anyone wants to get into it and reap the benefits of high returns.
In this article, we want to show you just how this market is growing by highlighting the 5 developments that we think point to Bitcoin’s wider adoption. Like it or not, and whatever certain experts are saying – Bitcoin IS going mainstream.
1. Some large banks are building their own crypto wallets
As you probably already know, a crypto wallet is used for storing cryptocurrency assets. These come in various forms, with the most popular ones being web-based wallets like Coinbase. And guess what? Some banks don’t like to see startups taking their business and have started doing something about it.
One of them is Shinhan Bank, the second largest bank in South Korea, which has recently announced that it is in the midst of building a cryptocurrency wallet for customers to store their digital assets securely.
“It is a service that keeps the Blockchain key through the virtual safe provided by the bank,” the bank said in a statement. “We are looking for ways to provide a free service when depositing and charge a fee when withdrawing.”
2. PwC accepts its first Bitcoin payment
You can already spend your bitcoins at more than 100,000 retailers, but that’s obviously not enough. Recently, one of the “Big Four” auditing and accountancy firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), accepted its first ever Bitcoin payment.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, PwC’s Hong Kong office was paid in Bitcoin for its work with local companies working in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space.
The move demonstrates how PwC is “embracing new technology,” with PwC Asia-Pacific chairman Raymund Chao adding: “It is also an indication that bitcoin and other established cryptocurrencies have now developed into more broadly accepted forms of settlement.”
For what it matters, PwC was one of the first companies to recognize the potential of decentralized computing, and is running its own blockchain research laboratory in Belfast.
3. Coinbase now has more users than Charles Schwab
The popular cryptocurrency wallet and exchange, Coinbase, now has more users than brokerage firm Charles Schwab. Number-wise, that’s 13 million vs. Schwab’s 10.6 million at the end of 2016. On the other hand, the amount of assets controlled by Schwab vastly exceeds those of Coinbase users.
Nonetheless, Charles Schwab is a well-established firm having been in the business for decades, whereas the party’s just getting started for Coinbase, which saw its user base growing 167 percent this year.
It is these sort of numbers that convinced some of the biggest venture capital firms and financial institutions like the NYSE/ICE, USAA, BBVA, Westpac, and MUFG to pour more than $200 million into Coinbase.
4. Institution investors are joining in
Already many hedge funds are investing in cryptocurrencies and the earlier mentioned Coinbase is about to launch a special service catered toward institutional investors’ unique needs.
Called Coinbase Custody, it is touted as the “next step to accelerating the world’s adoption of digital currencies,” aiming to “dramatically accelerate the flow of institutional money into digital currencies over the coming years.”
The product has all the features this specific clientele requires, including strict financial controls, dedicated account representatives and phone support, SLAs on funds transfers, a regulated digital currency custodian, multi-user accounts with separate permissions, support for a wide range of digital assets and currencies, insurance (in some cases), along with high levels of cyber and physical security.
By some estimates there is $10 billion of institutional money waiting on the sidelines to invest in digital currency today. With Custody, Coinbase hopes to bring these organizations to the table, helping push the entire cryptocurrency space to the new level.
5. The growing number of cryptocurrency focused patents
The number of cryptocurrency- and blockchain-related patent applications being submitted and published in the US nearly doubled in 2017, compared to the year before. During the first half of 2017, there were 390 patent applications broadly related to blockchain technology at USPTO’s website, up from 204 that were filed during the same period a year before. Compare that to just 71 patents that were filed in 2012 and you get the idea where the market is going.
Among the companies filing for such patents are the likes of Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Nasdaq, Bank of America, JP Morgan, Accenture, and others.