Anyone involved in cryptocurrency dreams of the day when crypto “goes mainstream.” It’s a day we all fantasize about: CNBC runs crypto prices right alongside stock prices on their tickers; coffee shops accept payment in crypto; your bank accepts crypto deposits in the same account as your cash deposits; retirement accounts are diversified into crypto; and paychecks are given out in the form of crypto or fiat, whichever you’d prefer.
Are we there yet? Surprisingly, we’re getting close. A few years back in 2017, we saw Bitcoin break into the mainstream culture for the first time. The price meteorically rose to around $20,000, CNBC analysts were talking about Bitcoin, and average people were trying to figure out what was going on. Those of us who were around then remember what happened next: Bitcoin’s rise didn’t have staying power, the price dramatically fell, and most people moved on from talking about cryptocurrency just as fast.
But not everyone forgot about crypto. Lessons were learned, plans were made, and innovators quietly got to work building the next leg of cryptocurrency’s journey. Regulators, taken by surprise during that quick flash in the pan, began planning what to do next. And institutional investors, not wanting to miss the next opportunity, shifted their mindsets around cryptocurrency.
A recent report on the global cypto-currency mining hardware market has revealed that the sector is poised to grow to an annual market value of $2.8 billion by 2024, progressing at a CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) of 7% between 2020 and 2024. Through its joint venture with Bit5ive, a global leader in cryptocurrency mining and innovative turnkey mining solutions, ISW Holdings (OTC: ISWH) is leading the charge by seeking to consolidate its position as an elite purveyor of digital currency and crypto-mining support services while further expanding its global product offering within the digital data services and mining center markets.
In addition, the culture surrounding cryptocurrency and blockchain in general is far more ready for the masses. Four years ago, the idea of a blockchain - a publicly accessible ledger of every transaction that has occurred within a network - was difficult for much of the public to wrap their heads around. Trying to buy cryptocurrency was difficult; few on-ramps existed to allow you to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency. Once you bought it, where did you put it? Wallets were difficult to navigate, scams proliferated this space, and few educational articles existed to guide you.
Now it’s easy to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency: simply login to one of many centralized exchanges, create an account, add your cash, and make your purchases. Using mainstream apps like Paypal and Coinbase (set to go public with an estimated $100 million offering this month) allow you to swap mainstream cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.) for more obscure altcoins that they also offer. This means that the average investor can easily chase after cryptocurrencies with a small market cap - an alluring option for anyone feeling adventurous. With easy-to-use wallets readily available, and free educational content all over the Internet, navigating your way through this space is easier than ever.
We also have to acknowledge that the way the government is approaching cryptocurrency is far different this time. The IRS is directly asking about cryptocurrency on tax returns; the FinCEN is proposing regulations to bring identities to cryptocurrency wallets; the OCC has opened its arms to cryptocurrency companies interested in pursuing bank charters. These are night-and-day differences to how the relationship between the government and cryptocurrency felt just a few years ago.
Institutional investors are also heavily interested in cryptocurrency, many of them seeing it as a secure store of value in a way that replaces gold. Tesla announced it recently purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin, MicroStrategy plans to hold $4.2 billionworth of Bitcoin, and Grayscale offers investors a way to gain exposure to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies through more traditional investment vehicles. It’s safe to say that institutional investors are buying large amounts of cryptocurrency and intend to stick around for a while.
Has cryptocurrency gone mainstream? I think we’re just about there. With giants like Citi and Goldman Sachs pouring billions into cryptocurrency holdings, and the government searching for ways to accommodate cryptocurrency users, we’re closer to the mainstream than ever before. This will translate into a tremendous demand for mining capabilities positioning ISW Holdings (OTC: ISWH) at the forefront of this new revolution.
The pace of innovation in and around cryptocurrency is only accelerating. It won’t be long until your paychecks are arriving in cryptocurrency, like the City of Miami is exploring. You’re witnessing the beginning of a new era: the Cryptocurrency Era.
