Ethereum ($ETH) – Retail Crypto Adoption Continues to Grow During Bear Market: “A Massive Opportunity”

There is always hope, even into the fifth month of the crypto bear market. For those who can’t bear to keep following the prices (pun intended), we focus on following the projects to the projects themselves, which create the value.

On September 6, the center of this hope is the merging of the Ethereum network. According to the Ethereum Foundation’s post, “The merger is the most complicated upgrade to Ethereum to date,” and moves toward proof-of-stake consensus.

As we look to a brighter future for the DeFi side of the blockchain ecosystem, we can look to areas where there are still signs of user growth.

Retail Blockchain Adoption: According to the Blockchain in Retail Market Report by Fortune Business Insights, the pandemic helped accelerate the growth of the blockchain retail market despite supply chain disruptions and global economic issues. The market is forecast to grow from $172,200,000 in 2021 to $2,082,800,000 by 2028.

“Demystifying Crypto,” an April report by payments platform Checkout.com, found that 45% of consumers between the ages of 18 and 35 believe crypto should be used as currency, and 62% of merchants plan to introduce digital coins, tokens or NFTs as a part of their loyalty schemes.

But will demand drive the use of crypto for purchases on mainstream merchant platforms? Tesla stopped accepting Bitcoin payments earlier this year. Nevertheless, retailers such as Home Depot, Whole Foods, Starbucks and Microsoft still accept Bitcoin.

We interviewed the management of payment platforms and vendors in the Web2 and Web3 space to get a first-hand view of the evolving crypto merchant landscape.

Retail growth during the crypto winter: With a boost in 2020 and 2021 from the pandemic, the global blockchain retail market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42.8%, a notable boost even as the effects of COVID-19 flatten out.

“The demand is there, so the solutions must meet the moment correctly and quickly,” Jess Houlgravehead of crypto strategy and GTM for Checkout.com, said in an interview with Benzinga.

The message is that although the crypto market remains dormant, awareness and demand for crypto has reached mainstream markets and continues to create momentum towards adoption.

“With online stores starting to accept crypto payments, it certainly raises curiosity about where this will lead in the future – and whether we will ever truly leave fiat in the past. We see the future of payments as a hybrid of fiat and crypto,” said Houlgrave.

“A massive opportunity”: Jacky GohCEO and founder of Rewards Bunnya shopping rewards program that awards crypto incentives, has seen a strong preference among its roughly 50,000 users for crypto.

“80% of our users chose crypto rewards. We see a huge opportunity in this space with more crypto adoption year over year,” said Goh.

Rewards Bunny is betting on Ethereum Merge to increase interest in crypto in the short term.

“Despite the current bearish crypto market, we are seeing tremendous progress in the blockchain technology space. This month is going to be exciting as the Ethereum merger takes place. We are also seeing how innovations are becoming more common in the blockchain space, especially with X-to-Earn -trends,” said Goh.

Why ease of use is key: Justin HochbergCEO and co-founder of Virtual Brand Group (VBG), which helps brands sell in the metaverse space, said the company’s studies show an increase in the use of crypto among consumers.

“Today, approximately 28% of people in the United States have used crypto. The Virtual Brand Group recently learned in a consumer survey that this will increase by 24% compounded in the next few years,” said Hochberg.

Hochberg dismisses the ominous “crypto winter” and said the need for user-friendly, affordable payment options will continue to drive crypto adoption.

“The X factor that will drive even more mass adoption is ease of use. There are thousands of companies working on creating crypto wallets, apps and payment systems that remove all the technology confusion for the average consumer, so soon you’ll be using it just like Venmo or PayPal,” said Hochberg.

Maurice Glissmann, founder and CEO of AMZSCALE, which supports over 800 Amazon merchants, has done a test with NFT sales, but said he feels positive about blockchain as a growth area for traditional retailers. AMZSCALE recently launched a security token that will allow investors to make investments in retail brands from their platform.

“We offer a solution for any brand to put some equity on the table and get some funding. We offer an audience investment solution for brands that allows them to connect with maybe 1,000 core customers who love the brand. That way, real brand lovers can really be a part of the entire brand. So I think not just with NFTs, but the whole blockchain space is going to be huge over the next year, especially for those kinds of services or ideas,” Glissmann said.

The last word: Despite the chilly market, progress continues – even if that progress is not reflected in market condition. If you look at the investments flowing into the space, there is still a bright future for many areas including retail, gamefi, defi, metaverse and paytech.

Mainstream discovered this once insular blockchain space during the last bull run. Project managers in our space must be ready to show our work with real use cases that serve not only the cryptostans, but the whole world.

So, what should these projects do while they wait for market conditions to warm up?

As Nadja Bester, one of the founders of AdLunam, recently said in an interview with Benzinga: “You have it in your hands to build the future. Replicating the success of other projects is no longer really an option. This is an opportunity for you to go and say, what are the real possibilities with this technology? What can our project actually do and achieve? I think a lot of creativity and a lot of innovation can come out of this. That is the silver lining.”

Perhaps part of that silver will be buying NFTs through Amazon sellers who use fiat. Or it could be setting up new revenue streams in the metaverse. Or something that hasn’t been considered yet. We love a bright new idea in the blockchain space. When the crypto winter is over, we need to be ready with ideas worth believing in. Ultimately, the projects will lead the way to a brighter, more constructive time for building the future in blockchain.

Picture of Megan Rexazine from Pixabay.