Twelve years after its inception, the Bitcoin network has already processed more dollars than PayPal, an American digital payment company. Experts believe that the network could surpass Mastercard, the giant credit card company, in dollar transactions value. This is impressive, but experts also think it could be even more powerful, by 2026.
According to a Blockdata report, the Bitcoin network generated approximately US$489 billion in quarterly transactions in 2021. This is more than Paypal’s US$302 trillion.
The report is titled “When might the Bitcoin network process volumes such as Mastercard and Visa?” The report stated that Bitcoin has processed about 27% of Mastercard’s US$1.8 Trillion per quarter and 15% of Visa’s US$3.2 Trillion every day after only 12 years of existence. It added that if Bitcoin could transfer 260% more value per transaction, it would process an equivalent amount to Mastercard daily.
The three main factors that could lead to Bitcoin reaching the same level as the credit card giants are the total number and average transaction amount, as well the increase in the price of Bitcoin.
However, the report could not find any data that would indicate an increase in the average Bitcoin transaction. Blockdata stated that while it is possible that this trend will change, an increase in Bitcoin’s price to US$245,000 at current volume would bring Bitcoin to equal Mastercard by 2026.
It is possible that Bitcoin’s average annual price could be as high as 2060 before it can match Mastercard’s. The report found that Bitcoin performed admirably for a network that was established just over a decade ago.
Bitcoin’s value has risen steadily over the years, compared to other cryptocurrencies on the market. Many experts believe that Bitcoin will soon surpass the US$100,000. However, it is uncertain when this could happen due to its volatile nature.
There are a growing number of companies in a variety of industries who are adopting cryptocurrencies. Customers can use them to pay for goods and services. PayPal, Mastercard, and Visa are just a few of the many.
