Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Galactic, which accepts bitcoin as a form of payment In a 1999 interview, Professor Milton Friedman, an American economist who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory, and the complexity of stabilization policy. He had this to say:

"I think the internet is going to be one of the major forces for reducing the role of government. The one thing that’s missing but that will soon be developed is a reliable e-cash."

In November 2008, a paper was posted to a cryptography mailing list titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System." In this time the value of the first Bitcoin transactions were negotiated by individuals on the bitcointalk forums with one notable transaction of 10,000 BTC used to indirectly purchase two pizzas.

In 2011, based on Bitcoin’s open source code, other cryptocurrencies started to emerge. By 2017, a single bitcoin's worth reached more than $4000

This is greatly attributed to the fact that more people are getting educated on how Bitcoin works. The convenience of receiving payments within seconds, with minimal transaction fees means a lot to a business. More online stores are opening up to accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment from their customers.

"Not only is Bitcoin exciting, it’s also going to play an “important role” in the future of PayPal." - John Donahoe, CEO of eBay

There are many other small e-commerce stores that accept cryptocurrency for purchases. Some industries even have custom cryptocurrencies, which serve like means of payment between parties.

The use of cryptocurrency is on the rise as it has many benefits, such as security, speed, minimal transaction fees, easy to store and manage and relevance in the digital era. It is evident that we won’t have to wait very long to see cryptocurrency as a globally accepted means of payment.