The number of cryptocurrency holders is set to triple by 2026, according to Pavlo Denysiuk, CEO of crypto payments firm Lunu. Speaking at NFT Fest 2024, Denysiuk highlighted that the current 560 million crypto holders worldwide could surpass the one billion mark within the next two years, based on current growth trends.
Crypto Adoption on the Rise
Denysiuk believes that cryptocurrency adoption will increase significantly, with mainstream companies starting to offer the necessary infrastructure for crypto payments. “Within two years, there will be at least two to three times more crypto holders worldwide,” he said. According to the 2024 Cryptocurrency Ownership report by Triple-A, around 6.8% of the world’s population currently holds crypto.
Infrastructure and Payment Adoption
Denysiuk emphasized that the widespread adoption of crypto payments is inevitable once the infrastructure is in place. He cited the example of mainstream companies like Starbucks potentially accepting crypto payments:
“[Crypto payment adoption] is not something that you need to convince someone of. Whenever the infrastructure is there, whenever you come to your Starbucks shop or somewhere else and there is a sticker saying ‘we accept crypto,’ it’s just another payment method.”
Web3 adoption panel discussion. Source: NFT Fest
The Role of Stablecoins
Stablecoins play a crucial role in the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, according to Denysiuk. He noted that stablecoins are a key on-ramp from fiat to the digital economy and will remain important as the number of crypto holders grows. “Stablecoins are very important for adoption. In our case, we almost never see people paying in Bitcoin, even though Bitcoin was invented as a digital currency,” Denysiuk said. Currently, the stablecoin market is worth over $163 billion, or 7.7% of the entire crypto market’s $2.11 trillion market capitalization.
User Experience: The Biggest Challenge
Despite the positive outlook, user experience remains the biggest challenge in achieving widespread crypto adoption. Chintan Turakhia, senior director of engineering at Coinbase, stressed the need for more beginner-friendly applications to bring in the next wave of users.
“If our goal is to bring in the next billion users — and let’s start with just 100 million — we have to take all those friction points out,” Turakhia said.
As the cryptocurrency market continues to evolve, improving user experience and infrastructure will be key to reaching the anticipated one billion crypto holders by 2026.
