While many out there are bashing the price of Bitcoin, industry experts believe that an upturn is on the cards.

The cryptocurrency industry has shown us that one year can really make a difference. This time in 2017 saw Bitcoin breaking barriers by reaching phenomenal price highs of nearly $20,000. Now, of course, the currency is trading at a fraction of that at just over $3,500 at the time of writing.

Many detractors and critics have taken this as an opportune time to lambaste virtual currencies as a whole. However, those who actually know what they are talking about are in the industry have a vastly different point of view. One such person is Stephen Pair.

BitPay Believes in Bitcoin

According to Forbes, the co-founder and CEO of BitPay believes that Bitcoin could see an upswing in adoption. Stephen Pair says:

Our thesis at BitPay is that all digital assets, or most digital assets, will be issued on a blockchain. And then most payments will be conducted on a blockchain. And we’re building a platform for that future. So I think you’re really looking somewhere in the three-to-five-year time frame.

Pair admits that this is a change from his initial prediction of a decade. He added:

I used to say 10 years, but now I think it’s more like three to five years until you can go into a restaurant, a retail establishment, and everybody’s going to expect that that store will be able to accept a blockchain payment.

Crypto Adoption is Growing

The list of establishments that are accepting crypto payments is definitely growing. There’s a brewery in London, a jewelry store in Canada, and even a university in Paris that is accepting student tuition in Bitcoin. In addition, there’s a platform in France that hopes to start selling crypto vouchers in certain tobacco stores in the country.

Another well-known name in the industry, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, believes that Bitcoin’s star will continue to shine brightly due to the belief that it is exactly what people around the world feel is needed in the financial sphere. Circle’s CEO explained:

The key thing with bitcoin is [that] it’s unique in its security and scale. And as an idea that we need a scarce [and] non-sovereign store of value that individuals can hold, and hold in a protected fashion, [Bitcoin] is attractive all around the world.

Pair and Allaire are not alone in their thinking, of course. In fact, BitcoinerX recently reported that crypto investor Ian Balina is looking at 2019 as the year that virtual currencies regain their price power, potentially spurred on by the hopeful approval of the Bitcoin ETF.

Do you agree that we’ll see mass adoption in less than five years? Let us know in the comments below!

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