Will Bitcoin ever be a major payment network?

Bitcoin’s soaring valuations back in 2017 brought this cryptocurrency into the media spotlight. In addition to a declaration that somebody had invested in Bitcoin being fashionable, people wondered whether this virtual currency would gain mass adoption. Bitcoin has a simple core concept. Satoshi Nakamoto hoped to create a peer-to-peer currency that wouldn’t require people to involve financial institutions and other intermediaries in their transactions.

Some people have argued that Bitcoin could be the ultimate global currency. However, the world has other cryptocurrencies too. For instance, Ethereum is also a popular virtual currency. And people are using platforms like the Crypto Engine to trade this virtual currency. Nevertheless, Bitcoin remains the dominant and most popular virtual currency.

Bitcoin as the Single World’s Currency

Predictions that suggest Bitcoin could be the only world’s currency are rife all over the world. However, Bitcoin must meet specific criteria to become the single currency for the world. Here are the two main criteria.

• New and innovative technology: It’s no secret that many countries are doing all they can to leverage the blockchain technology on which Satoshi built Bitcoin. For instance, the Housing Minister in the United Kingdom has hinted that the country can save up to £8 annually by embracing this technology. And the government is already carrying out proof-of-concept tests for payments processing benefits.
• Network effects value for Bitcoin: Most companies derive value from their network effects. For instance, if a company had a single user, its value would be zero. If Twitter didn’t have users, it wouldn’t have any value. Adding two or three people gives the network its value. Thus, the user base provides a platform with its utility, creating network effects. And this is also the case for Bitcoin. If nobody uses Bitcoin, the payment system wouldn’t have value.

Bitcoin Growth

Currently, the Bitcoin network is handling many transactions at any given moment. That’s because it has many users that give it a user base. Compared to other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin has the most extensive user base. However, conventional systems like credit cards have a higher user base.

That means for Bitcoin to become a primary payment system, more people using traditional payment systems must switch to this virtual currency. But is the Bitcoin network prepared to handle a massive influx of users from traditional payment systems to this virtual currency?