I received a call from a friend a university last night and he was excited to tell me that he had randomly met another kid at the bar who was talking about bitcoin and other cryptocurrency to his friends. I guess my friend had overheard him talking and filled with liquid courage, informed them about me. It was almost as if my friend was blown away that there were more people than just me in this world of crypto. I slowly whispered to him “It’s happening” as a joke and hung up the phone.My friend had been my roommate when I discovered bitcoin in late 2012 so he has put up with more crypto conversion conversations than anyone in this lifetime should be put through. I actually got him to buy a few and he’s thanking me for it at this point.
Ultimately after our conversation, I started to think about how we define mainstream adoption as individuals and in addition as a community. Similar to the “moon” price being different for everyone involved, I think many people have different expectations for mainstream adoption. To me personally, I don’t need to have everyone using crypto on a daily basis to consider that mainstream adoption. If that happens then fantastic, but I would just consider everyone knowing that we exist as mainstream adoption on some level. If we make a similar reference, the stock market is mainstream , but not everyone in the United States use it or even know that much about it. In fact only about 40% of people even own any sort of securities and many of them just through work plans where they control almost nothing.
If we had 10% of Americans or 5% of people around the world using crypto even just once a month, I would consider the success to be astronomical. While many systems we currently have today might not work at that scale, there are many other systems yet to be developed that need that type of scale to be operational. Projects that could change how we live our daily lives only need one thing, people. This is why venture capitalists still see investing in wallets and other beginner companies as the best bet for their money. Those who can bring in the casual user are going to profit immensely in the end.
Right now the majority of applications that crypto has aren’t bringing in the average people, but project just like ours here with steem are slowly changing that. I believe that the Steemit platform has the potential to bring in hundreds and thousands of people into crypto and how it works on a beginner level. Just like how the internet used fun intuitive sites to bring in average users, Steemit is doing the same. We are a direct onramp to the rabbit whole so to speak and while many don’t realize it, just by participating they are moving us towards mainstream adoption.
In many ways we have already hit an adoption level, which many, including me never thought we would. The fact that in the past having a small tiny article on any niche site back in the day would rejoice the community and now we have massive financial companies like Bloomberg putting us on the front page, blows my mind. For many of those who came before me, we are already at the promise land and even if the community stays this size and never goes larger, we made it. Everyone’s idea of what mainstream adoption is like is completely valid. I don’t expect us to stop growing, but even with we did im just happy we made it this far and that people know we exist. What is your idea of mainstream adoption?
-Calaber24p
I find it interesting that some people are already trying to call it a Bitcoin bubble. To me, since most people on the street don't know what it is (still)... and most retirement accounts don't include any crypto (still).. we are no where near mass adoption in percentage terms. As far as timeline goes, I think 5 years from now virtually everyone will know what Bitcoin and crypto is.. (well.. at least know it exists). I've gotten quite a few people at work into mining Zen, ZCash, Verium, and also to invest a little. I wish I had got in earlier than I did, but I can't complain as this is still very early.
Not already, continually. Bitcoin is constantly declared "dead" or in a bubble, over 100 times in the fake press. This is mostly people feeling FOMO and trying to rationalize their way out of missing out.
You know it's really a bubble when those same idiots are buying in.
Very true!
BTC is a great dinosaur that everyone tries to overthrow. But he's always out there. It is simple and fulfills what promises, is a currency of digital exchange. only that. We are a long way from a bubble, banks themselves and stock market operators are spreading these false rumors because they are losing customers.
They call it bubble because they compare it to the stockmarket, most of them are not aware that cryptos are nothing like that. Its the idea behind it and a deflationary system. The will always believe its a bubble, because they dont have the right perspective. I dont believe its the right question to ask. is it a bubble or is it not? The right question to ask is. Does the system prevail? Is there a use or function for it? Does it have longterm value?
I know right. Sure it might be a bit inflated because some people are speculating with it.
But that doens't mean the entire coin is worthless.
Resteemed, I can totally relate to this... nice work
Excellent article with very valid points. I'm sure that many people will be reading this with nodding heads and with a sense of validity.
We're doin' it. Slowly but surely, we shall win the race.
People will win in the end, they always do.
I always look forward to your write ups. Never die!
The very moment the main industry starts adopting cryptocurrencies will be the moment when we can say the mainstream has adopted. Governments do not like cryptocurrencies, as we do can do business without their supervision and knowing. When the industry accept cryptocurrencies, the government will be forced to act along with it. We do have one benefit, the industry business men I have spoken to about this subject are very enthousiastic about cryptocurrencies, due to it being decentralized. So everybody, talk about it on your own work, start locally, that way we can increase awareness on a global level! :D
I think when it is easier for the average person to get into. I know right now SteemIt is fairly easy to get into. However other than that most cryptos are difficult for people to navigate. Although, I think the crypto world is going to acclerate and we will see big changes in the near future.
I think the mainstream differs to some extent based on which country you live in. Now yeah phones and such are well spread but different countries have different perceptions on the mainstream, therefore shifting it a bit, thus it changes slightly.
Cheers for the great post ^^🍻
I offer a cultural definition of "Mainstream Adoption"...
When you can talk about cryptocurrencies with just about anyone and it is considered "old hat" and not new anymore, it has been adopted by the mainstream.
The Internet is good example to compare to. While almost totally unknown 25 years ago, it has been incorporated into the fabric of civilization. There are plenty of people who don't own computers and go on the Internet, perhaps not so much with young people, but suffice it to say that there are billions of people out there who have no direct involvement with the Internet, but their country is served by global Internet communications. The Internet is still mainstream in this case.
When it comes to mainstream adoption and crypto, I think the blockchain being ubiquitous in the corporate world will signal mainstream adoption. The blockchain IMO is not going to be a direct boon to the individual like the Internet was (Steemit is an exception). Google makes anyone an Oracle with magical powers. Anyone can get instant access to information that took weeks, months or more to research only decades ago.
Distributed ledgers require 100s of computers and the Internet to make them work. This is infrastructure suitable for corporate level management, not a tool for the individual.
I could be wrong (and I hope so) because in the future we may be seeing many as yet unimagined things come about in this milieu of exponentially accelerating technology.
Your article brought up a question that has been on the minds of many, so I have upvoted and re-steemed it
Joining last June and going through all the up's and downs I must say we made it. We are past that point of just fading away. Long as we keep making this platform more and more useful for the average person the masses will con't to pile in. Looking at the latest data I believe we have only just begun. Just a few months ago I was nearly ready to give up on Steemit when Dan left. That's when we hit .07 cents! Transactions were flat lined and their was nearly no new users coming on board. Now look! The HF's def made a huge difference in the rewards and fairness of the platform. Now we just need Steem communities and the rest of the line up Zapple, Steepshot, SteemTV, other Steem Apps. Personally, I think we are going to give Youtube, Reddit and Facebook a run for their money. Steemit is becoming what I dream about last year when I started to power up!
I just joined. I had heard about it a couple months ago, but now I'm here because of doing a lot of research on crypto-currencies and the distributed web. I think you are right. There is tremendous room for growth here.
Real mainstream adoption will only happen when cryptocurrencies are easier to buy/sell for FIAT. Even though we are half way into 2017, the average person would have no clue how to get cryptocurrencies or give up half way through the process.
That's just my opinion.
This. People know that fiat is dying, but are flummoxed with how to enter crypto. There are too few exchanges, a long wait with ID verification, then the issue of which crypto to buy, how to store (we need an AOL style GUI for simple users) and good security protocol for newbies.
Projects that are built on cryptocurrency platforms that get people involved in the application first, then rewards them with the asset is a good way further mainstream adoption. Steemit is a good example.
Bitcoin is influencing market all over the world. I am indian so as i can see bitcoin is on a great pace in india. With the rise in bitcoin it is taking the world into cryptocurrencies. Few people feels insecure in dealing in bitcoins but nowadays as many online stores has started accepting bitcoins for their services. So its definitely gonna good source of public dealing in future and we are always here to popularise it.
I'm super glad to hear this. I was worried about you guys with that whole currency thing earlier this year.
If I'm not mistaken we are growing at a rate of 5% per week currently. That means that we will double in size roughly every 14 weeks. And who is to say that it will be only 5% increase, maybe we will start growing even faster at some point.
Thanks the info, I really think this will happen soon...
Interesting article. I think soon it will be mainstream, however its tough to estimate a time frame on that. Enjoyed your post, keep the great work up!
You bring up some great points. I do agree with you mainstream adoption is probably when there's just enough average common people using a product or service.
I do think however mainstream adoption is different than mainstream awareness. For instance, back in 2010, an Apple Ipad might have just initially had a small market share when it came out but most people were aware of the product.
I do definitely believe that cryptocurrencies are definitely entering both mainstream awareness and adoption right now. My dad just asked me last month about what Bitcoin is and how we can buy some. Usually, when my somewhat not so technically inclined parents start talking to me about adopting technological stuff, it's a definite sign that something is becoming mainstream at least on some level.
Its just a matter of time really. The blockchain technologies are still in their infancy and not exactly easy to use for those who're uninformed
Whats fascinating is various countries in Africa such as Kenya are far ahead of much of the rest of the world when it comes to paying for things digitally. They seemed to skip much of the paper currency and moved straight to digital currencies for many things
3rd world countries indeed are faster with adopting to these currencies. That is mainly to avoid the need to interact with their corrupt governments.
For persons who have no idea of the cryptomarket, i would not recommend investing, unless they are aware that they are speculating. You can loose friends if you do that. If they are aware, i think its a good think to have 2-5% of your money in crypto, just in case its skyrockets, even for Mr Average!
To be efficient, a platform needs to have a strong curation system. This is enabled by the Matchmaker role of the platform.To reach a mainstream population, a platform needs to achieve both effectiveness and efficiency. A strong trust or curation mechanism builds reliability into the platform, something that’s frequently desired by mainstream audiences.
I don't know but I feel 10% people using once a month is a bit low. For mainstream adoption I think at least 25% of young people should be using it fairly regularly. Sites like Steemit definitely makes the transition to crypto not cryptic :)
yes steemit bought me into crypto and i reckon it will bring in millions after me too
Such a great definition and analysis of the current state of social interaction. People don't really have a definition for mainstream adoption because it just "pops up" all of the sudden. My definition of mainstream adoption is when the big companies and social giants start commenting on it, then it has gained mainstream adoption. Attention from the masses from all over the world. Steemit has definitely surpassed that level. We're growing so fast and so strong, I believe we'll pass Reddit and Facebook very soon :)
It was such a niche, nerds and criminals were the only one actually aware of the cryptoscene. Exciting to see it went mainstream.
Look these crypto currencies are needed you cannot have it monopolized just by bitcoin people will need others to be more secured and to have more chances to win from fluctuation. I myself believe that this is the time of the internet millionaires/billionaries. We just have to use it and i am not meaning the ones that are CEOs of these ideas. I mean us the little people who can benefit from them.
i think the moment of mainstream adoption is there when you mention the term cryptocurrencies or bitcoin and the person you talk with approximately knows what you mean, and you dont have to explain that its money stored decentralized "in the internet" ( blockchain ).
Great points. I still feel like maybe 1% of the population can hold an intelligent conversation about cryptocurrencies. We have a long way to go for adoption. Something tells me when Bitcoin hits the $10,000 level, it will finally wake people up that crypto is here to stay and they are missing out. For me, wide scale adoption will be when I can fully convert to Bitcoin and use it to make purchases almost anywhere.
its when people leverage their mortgage against it and then wake up later to find the thing under the wrapping is mostly bs
I'm more interested in networks
multi dimensional networks
streams, especially the main stream
is SO last millenia
NSA = Nakamoto SAtoshi)
Great article.
Informative and catchy
Awesome article and blog post. Upvoted and promoted!!
Very nice
Informative article
Keep it up buddy
Good for steemit health
Hi @calaber24p, if one just look at the daily new user stats, it seems to me that steem is starting to snowball which will quickly lead to main stream adoption. I think it will be quicker than we think, and remember no marketing has been done officially yet!!
I owned some Bitcoin a few years back but never really got into the crypto thing until I was introduced to Steemit. The number of cryptos available now and the things being done with block chains is mind blowing.
Makes me wish I would have took it more serious years ago but I am happy to have found Steemit.
What better way is there to get involved in the crypto culture than this?
As far as going mainstream, everyone I mention Bitcoin to may have heard of it, but they don't know really anything about it or cryptos in general.
I think, as a newbie, that this is still a little ways away from reaching critical mass but that is a good thing for the early adopters.
:o)
Michael
Steemit as an on ramp to the crypto market. Interesting perspective. That would indicate a great future for steemit !!
STEEM On !!
Dave
Great piece. Mass adoption of crypto will only happen through the use of blockchains in a valuable way. Projects like Steemit, Verge or Golem have totally different applications. Mass adoption of Golem means something totally different than mass adoption of Steemit. Each project has a potential userbase with a certain maximum size. If the whole scientific world for instance would use Golem to do heavy calculation, but nobody else is using Golem to pay for groceries etc., I would say Golem has reached mass adoption, but crypto in general has not necessarily reached it...
Great points. It's like a gateway drug into the other aspects of crypto. Steemit, while is does have a learning curve can be mastered and understood WAY more easily than exchanges and moving around coins from wallets and setting up your own miner.
People who have never heard of crypto are jumping on Steemit which is forcing them to learn the technology and believe me, they are telling their friends. The open wallets are brilliant because anyone can see that people are making money....and that drives involvement...BIG TIME!
Give this another 6 months. I see an additional 500k or 1 million users on the platform and at that point, mainstream media articles will be talking about steemit and facebook/youtube and other social media sites will be in full blown panic mode with focus groups and surveys trying to figure out how to stop the bleeding.
I have had a few people tell me that Facebook is never going away. Same with Youtube.
All I have is one word in response. MYSPACE.
In my opinion mass adoption means that cryptos would be recognizable by most people you can meet on street. They don't have to own any. But if they know what bitcoin is and that it's. Not "to buy drugs" media crap shit. But if they realy know what this is, then we can for sure imho call it mass adoption.
It would be helpful to build bridges from audiences, products and services in the mass market to educate and cause interaction at the B2B, B2C and C2C levels. Any good examples of bridges? Many business people want to get involved, but don't know how.
When everyone you know is using it, it's mainstream!
Congratulations @calaber24p
You took 43 place in my Top 100 of posts