We’ve all noticed it. Since the beginning of 2019, it’s been story after story about some big company, an exciting milestone, or a famous person giving a nod to the blockchain movement. Each time it either causes a collective eye roll among industry participants or sends a wave of hope, s ometimes both. Up until this point, global adoption has seemed very far away. Now, however, those of us diehards who lasted out the bear market are rejoicing to see crypto repeatedly in the spotlight.

While 2017 may be remembered for the ICO insanity, and 2018 for the crypto drought, 2019, 2020 and beyond are getting us closer to where global adoption becomes more than just a fantasy. There are literally dozens of signals hitting us from every direction. For this article, we attempted to narrow it down into the 8 biggest signs that global adoption is coming.

#1 – Elon Musk thinks paper money will die

Tech startup extraordinaire Elon Musk publicly stated that Tesla would not be moving into cryptocurrencies. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t believe in a bright future for blockchain technologies. It only meant it wasn’t a good fit for Tesla at this given point in time. The quote that got all of our attention was this:

“Paper money is going away…Crypto is a far better way to transfer value than pieces of paper, that’s for sure.” – Elon Musk

One crypto influencer went as far as to suggest that Musk could be privately planning his own move into the blockchain world. Mr_Kristof, a Bitcoin miner and YouTuber, suggests that maybe Musk is designing a solution to the bitcoin mining energy problem.

#2 – Big banking makes its crypto debut

With a true if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em attitude, the world’s biggest bank took the plunge on Valentine’s Day of 2019. Jamie Dimon’s announcement of a JP Morgan cryptocurrency sent shivers up many a spine. For some people, because of excitement, for others it was more of a cringe. Either way, it was hard not to spend some brain space thinking about the implications.

While this bank coin is not what most would consider a real cryptocurrency, it sure did bring some awareness to the crypto space. The twitterverse nearly exploded with colorful tweets and reactions:

#3 – Big tech is leaning in

The number 2 tech company in the world, Samsung reached $225 billion in sales for 2018. In fact, their products make up 1/5 of all South Korea’s exports. Their move into crypto represents a strong trend in crypto acceptance.

We were still in a tailspin from the JP Morgan news story when Samsung made a revealing announcement. The newly unveiled Galaxy S10 smartphone would include “Samsung Knox”, a hardware feature for storing private crypto keys.

Combine this with Samsung’s entry into ASIC development and you have a tech giant laying wait, readying for the crypto boom. Global adoption, here we come!

#4 – Zuckerberg wants some

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has found himself in the news repeatedly of late over data breaches and abuses. He and his monolithic social media platform have both come under fire for their lack of user protections.

He’s come a long way since Facebook banned all crypto related-ads in spring of 2018. In an amazing full circle twist, he now wants all Facebook users to earn crypto for the use of their data while offering privacy and encryption. (Update: Libra!)

Most crypto enthusiasts have been moving away from centralized platforms like Facebook. Incidentally, even The New Yorker recognized the dangers of centralization in a recent post about Zuckerberg. They compared the move into encrypted, privately controlled data to China’s highly centralized WeChat, which does not depend on ad money since it’s a digital payment service.

Furthermore, The New Yorker hinted that maybe Facebook’s move into crypto is purely defensive. Because if they encrypt data and enable reduced permanence (think Snapchat), they may no longer be liable for the same data woes.

Come what may, you can’t deny that Facebook’s move into crypto could bundle up its 2.27 billion active users into one big slab of global adoption.

#5 – Bitcoin transactions are booming

Bitcoin’s confirmed daily transactions have seen enormous growth since this time last year. Despite what everyone considers to be a long bear market, the confirmed daily transactions have grown from 196,422 on March 7th 2018, to 282,583 one year later. That’s how many Bitcoin transactions are confirmed every day on average!



Next, check out the pretty picture below. If that doesn’t scream global adoption, I’m not sure what does! Bitcoin’s all-time number of transactions is currently at 389,614,210. (Updated November 2019: 478,868,151 total Bitcoin transactions)

#6 – Lattes by the Bitcoin may kick start global adoption

Forbes reported just a few days ago that Starbucks has made it official: they plan to utilize the Baakt payment software in their stores.

Crypto enthusiasts are practically frothing at the prospect of buying their lattes with Bitcoin. Starbucks sells roughly 4 billion cups of coffee each year! Imagine that in terms of global adoption…

#7 – Twitter CEO tells all

…about his crypto adventures! Jack Dorsey, CEO of both Twitter and Square, alluded to Bitcoin as a possible coin to rule them all. Maybe ten years down the road. According to a report in The Times, Dorsey believes that soon there will be one world currency. Moreover, he expects it will be Bitcoin.

Again, it’s exciting to see the big players in today’s digital media giving a nod to the potential of global adoption for cryptocurrencies. Because every time it happens, people all over the world are paying attention. (Update November 2019: Jack has just finished a lengthy stay in Africa where he networked with African blockchain initiatives.)

#8 Supermarket chain goes gaga for Bitcoin

Supermarket chain Kroger recently expressed its frustration with Visa credit card fees. Essentially, they’ve moved to eliminate the option from 250 of its stores in the US.

On hearing this news, crypto influencer and Co-Founder of Morgan Creek Digital, Anthony Pompliano, publicly sought out information about Kroger’s management team. He wanted to talk to them about the possibility of using Bitcoin with the Lightning Network to replace the Visa Credit card option in those stores.

Sure enough, his Twitter feed filled almost instantly with contact information for Kroger execs. Now, Kroger is seriously considering it.

In case you’re wondering if there’s a Krogers near you, check out their handy store handy locator: https://www.kroger.com/stores/search

Thanks for joining us today in this global adoption revelry. After a year-long bear market, a short bull run and another bear, we’re all about ready for some good news!

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