Retail Crypto Adoption Continues to Grow During Bear Market: ‘Massive Opportunity’

There is always hope, even in the fifth month of the crypto bear market. For those who can’t stand continuing to track prices (pun intended), we focus on tracking the projects of the projects themselves, which create value.

On September 6, the center of this hope is the Ethereum mainnet merger. According to the message from the Ethereum Foundation, “The Merge is the most complicated Ethereum upgrade to date,” heading towards a proof-of-stake consensus.

As we wish for a better future on the DeFi side of the blockchain ecosystem, we can look to areas where there are still signs of user growth.

Blockchain adoption in retail: According to Blockchain in Retail Market Report per Fortune Business Insights, the pandemic has helped accelerate blockchain retail market growth despite supply chain disruptions and global economic challenges. The market is expected to grow from $172,200,000 in 2021 to $2,082,800,000 by 2028.

“Demystifying Crypto“, an April report from payment platform Checkout.com, showed that 45% of consumers aged 18-35 believe crypto should be used as currency and 62% of merchants plan to introduce digital coins. , tokens or NFTs as part of their loyalty schemes.

But will demand drive the use of crypto for purchases on mainstream retailer platforms? Tesla stopped accepting bitcoin payments earlier this year. Yet retailers like Home Depot, Whole Foods, Starbucks, and Microsoft still accept Bitcoin.

We interviewed leaders of payment platforms and providers in the Web2 and Web3 space to get a first-hand view of the evolving landscape of crypto retailers.

Retail Growth During Crypto Winter: With a boost from the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the global blockchain retail market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42.8%, a remarkable surge even if the effects of COVID-19 are flattening out.

“The demand is there, so solutions must respond to the moment appropriately and quickly,” Jess Houlgravehead of crypto and GTM strategy at Checkout.com, said in an interview with Benzinga.

The story continues

The message is that even though the crypto market remains in the doldrums, awareness and demand for crypto has reached mainstream markets and continues to build adoption momentum.

“With online retailers beginning to accept crypto payments, it certainly sparks curiosity as to where this will lead in the future – and if we will ever truly leave fiat in the past. We see the future of payments as a hybrid of fiat and crypto,” Houlgrave said.

“A Massive Opportunity”: Jacky GohCEO and Founder of rewards bunnya shopping rewards program that awards crypto incentives has seen a strong preference among its roughly 50,000 users for crypto.

“80% of our users chose crypto rewards. We see a huge opportunity in this space with more crypto adoption year on year,” Goh said.

Rewards Bunny bets on Ethereum merger to boost near-term interest in crypto.

“Despite the current crypto bear market, we are seeing tremendous progress in the blockchain technology space. This month will be exciting as the Ethereum merger will take place. We also see how innovations are becoming more common in the blockchain space, especially with X-to-Earn trends,” Goh said.

Why Ease of Use Matters: Justin HochbergCEO and co-founder of Virtual brand group (VBG), which helps brands sell in the metaverse space, said the company’s studies show an increase in consumer use of crypto.

“Today, approximately 28% of people in the United States have used crypto. The Virtual Brand Group recently learned in a consumer survey that this will increase by 24% over the next few years,” Hochberg said.

Hochberg dismisses the grim “crypto winter” and said the need for easy-to-use, low-cost payment options will continue to drive crypto adoption.

“The X-factor that will drive even more mass adoption is ease of use. Thousands of companies are working to create crypto wallets, apps, and payment systems that eliminate technological confusion for an average consumer. You so soon use it like Venmo or PayPal,” Hochberg said.

Maurice Glissman, founder and CEO of AMZSCALE, which supports more than 800 Amazon retailers, took a test run with NFT sales, but said he felt optimistic about blockchain as a growth area for traditional retailers. AMZSCALE recently launched a security token that will allow investors to invest in retail brands from their platform.

“We offer a solution for any brand to put money on the table and get funds. We offer a crowd investing solution for brands that allows them to connect with maybe 1,000 core customers who love the brand. This way, true brand lovers can truly become part of the brand as a whole. So I think not just with NFTs, but the whole blockchain space is going to be huge over the next year, especially for those kinds of services or ideas,” Glissmann said.

The last word: Despite the cold market, progress continues, even if this progress is not reflected in the state of the market. If you look at the investments pouring into the space, there’s still a bright future for many areas, including retail, gamefi, defi, metaverse, and paid tech.

The general public discovered this once-insular blockchain space during the last bull run. Project managers in our space should be prepared to show off our work with real-world use cases that serve not just crypto stans but the world at large.

So what should these projects do while waiting for market conditions to warm up?

As Nadja Bester, one of the founders of AdLunam, recently said in an interview with Benzinga: “You have in your hands the task of building the future. Replicating the success of other projects is no longer really an option. Is this an opportunity for you to tell yourself what the real possibilities of this technology are? What can our project really do and achieve? I think a lot of creativity and a lot of innovation can come from it. It’s the silver lining.

Perhaps part of that silver lining will be buying NFTs through Amazon sellers using fiat. Or it could be creating new revenue streams in the metaverse. Or something that hasn’t been considered so far. We love a brilliant new idea in the blockchain space. As the crypto winter comes to an end, we need to be ready with trustworthy insights. Ultimately, the projects will pave the way for a brighter and more constructive time to build the future of blockchain.

Picture by Megan Rexazine from Pixabay.

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