Analysts estimate that the global cryptocurrency market will more than triple by 2030, hitting a valuation of nearly $5 billion. Whether they want to buy into it or not, investors, businesses, and brands can’t ignore the rising tide of crypto for long.
Yet paradoxes are anywhere. Investors believe in regulation yet are worried about many of the law’s impacts. They’re eco-conscious, but crypto has a huge carbon footprint.
Digging into these nuances is key to understanding overall consumer sentiment – and predicting consumer behavior – around a very uncertain future of cryptocurrency.
The number of cryptocurrency investors has been steadily increasing worldwide, but recent growth has been explosive.
What’s more, the profile of investors has evolved. In the age of meme stocks and stimulus checks anymore. Compared to 2018, older consumers have begun to back crypto faster. In the U.S., consumers over 35 years old make up nearly half (47%) of those who expect to invest in cryptocurrency in the next six months.
For many of these current and potential investors, crypto offers a new way to handle their finances. Many also find that the financial freedom of crypto has liberated them from the rigidity of traditional banking.
According to a new Pew Research Center survey, most U.S. adults have heard at least a little about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ether, and 16% say they have invested in, traded, or otherwise used one. Men ages 18 to 29 are particularly likely to say they have used cryptocurrencies.
86% of Americans
Overall, 86% of Americans say they have heard at least a little about cryptocurrencies, including 24% who say they have heard a lot about them, according to the survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 13-19, 2021. Some 13% say they have heard nothing at all.
More recently, the upsides of cryptocurrency have begun to attract institutions. Traditional finance is rushing to cater to the increased demand, such as U.S. Bank’s recent creation of a bitcoin custody service, allowing hedge funds to take a stake in digital currency. The institutional money that has been pouring into cryptocurrency over the past few years has begun to change the power structure of the market.
Unlike traditional banks, you didn’t even need an address to trade in crypto; all you needed was an internet connection. Cryptocurrency, in principle, relies on the collective actions of everyday users to self-regulate; they keep the ledger of transactions.
Many investors believe greater regulation could legitimize the fledgling marketplace, enabling more businesses to accept digital currencies and increasing their Value and security from fraud while reducing volatility and criminal activity.
However, many also worry that cryptocurrency regulation could effectively limit its peer-to-peer nature, drawing initial investors. They also see drawbacks to crypto regulation as a potentially more significant threat, not just to their wallets but to the individual freedoms they currently experience in the decentralized and anonymous marketplace.
Crypto has thrived from volatility and anonymity. Perhaps this reflects the anti-establishment ethos of crypto’s early culture. Building trust and credibility in the crypto space is easier if you’re not a government entity in the eyes of consumers.
Although, support for regulation is directed not toward governments but payment companies and exchanges themselves. While many consumers are mistrustful of industries that are allowed to self-regulate, in this case, they see it as a potential solution to the unique risks of crypto regulation.
While regulators will shape the future of cryptocurrency, they can also be influenced by brands, many of which are jumping into the market to fill the needs of the growing marketplace. Governments have ignored facilitating trades in a more comfortable, safe environment for “newbies” or offering education and resources for curious intenders.
To this end, the AMP token and the Flexa network are crucial components of crypto exchange and the potential for cryptocurrencies to move forward in the coming decades.
Amp is an Ethereum-based token issued by the Flexa network, and Flexa is a payments platform aimed at solving all current problems associated with any cryptocurrency transactions.
These include
- Merchant fee,
- Fraudulent card charges,
- Charge back problem
- And the speed of transactions and security
How do Flexa and Amp Work?
The idea is to have the operator of a centralized payment combined with a decentralized network that makes it trustworthy and secure. Flexa acts as the centralized entity, and AMP is decentralized. Since Flexa is centralized, some aspects of its operations are proprietary.
The basic plan behind how Flexa works.
When using Flexa, the variety of stable coins, coins, and tokens framework includes 22 options. When using the SPEDN app or Gemini Pay (Gemini leverages Flexa’s payments) at a store that supports Flexa, the merchant will scan a QR code on your app, and the funds will be sent.
In addition to not having to pay high fees (about 1%), the merchant has another excellent feature: they can choose a default currency to be paid in, including fiat currencies. The funds you send will automatically be exchanged for the currency favored by the merchant using Coinbase or Gemini.
Card fraud is a big issue and it can cost the merchant. Converting one crypto to fiat via Flexa is instant. Therefore, the merchant would risk not getting anything at all without any collateral if the transaction doesn’t go through. To solve this issue, AMP Token is used to collateralize each transaction. Those who Stake AMP in any payment providers leveraging Flexa payment protocol, SPEDN, and Gemini Pay.
Because of how the whole ecosystem around Flexa payments works, the success of Amp is securely tied to the achievement of Flexa. However, AMP is a universal token for collateralization which means that others could also adopt Amp. If Amp can establish itself as a genuinely universal collateralization token, it could split from Flexa and experience much more substantial growth compared to Flexa. There are already some DeFi projects which do this.
Lastly, Amp being totally separated from the rest of the crypto markets because it’s only backed by utility. There’s no denying that larger trends in cryptocurrency markets affect almost all cryptos and Amp isn’t an exception to this. This can examined by AMP’s price chart compared to Bitcoin’s. Now, while they might not move hand in hand, they certainly aren’t far from each other either. Almost all tops and bottoms are correlated and that’s just how it is in cryptocurrency. In the long term, when crypto markets get more mature, it wouldn’t be surprising if Amp starts following its utility more than the general markets.
Whatever the future of cryptocurrency holds, there’s a lot of work to be done to balance the risks with the rewards, and there’s a lot of opportunity for the brands and individuals who take on the task.
Sources
Disclaimer
Although the material contained in this website was prepared based on information from public and private sources that AMPRaider.com believes to be reliable, no representation, warranty or undertaking, stated or implied, is given as to the accuracy of the information contained herein, and AMPRaider.com expressly disclaims any liability for the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this website.
