For much of the general public, cryptos are a complex investment with high risk. Yet, the global crypto market keeps swelling year on year, and it has already surpassed a worldwide market capitalization of $2.5 trillion. The Bitcoin cap reached $1.44 trillion in March 2024, when 1 BTC hit a record high of $73,678.
Projections show that the number of crypto users should grow to 328 million in the next four years, and per Statista, the user penetration rate will rise to 22.2% within this period from the current 18.78%. Despite these figures, virtual money forms operating on blockchain technology have not reached the adoption level many have hoped, as many business sectors have stayed clear of accepting them due to various concerns. The most notable of these has been the lack of clear regulatory frameworks, substantial market volatility, transaction speeds, network congestion, tax compliance issues, and the poorly understood technical complexity concerning cryptocurrencies, leading to negative public perception and institutional trust.
Nevertheless, various spheres have boldly adopted blockchain technology and crypto payments and have thrived due to this daring step. We list four such examples below.
Crowdfunding
Most people do not think of crowdfunding as a distinct sector. However, it is, and it has gained massive traction over the past decade because of the power of social media. Market research firm – Fortune Business Insights estimated that in 2023, this industry generated $1.4 billion, noting that it should exhibit a growth of 13.8% in the next eight years.
Kickstarter alone has had close to five million project backers since its debut in 2009, directing over $815 million in donations. The crowdfunding realm has broadly accepted cryptos with arms wide open because of the anonymity this tech offers, keeping donors’ identities a secret.
Travel
Here is what is likely another shocker for most readers. But, in 2024, various travel-related entities accept Bitcoin transfers especially. For example, multiple luxury hotels around the globe let their guests pay in BTC when booking rooms. These include the Soneva Maldives, the Palazzo Versace in Dubai, and establishments under the Pavilions Hotels & Resorts banner.
It must be mentioned that Binance-backed Internet travel agency – Travala.com announced it would allow digital coin payments in 2020, accepting more than thirty cryptos, including the world’s initial one – Bitcoin. 2014 Expedia proclaimed it would enter the BTC economy, becoming the first major travel company. Sadly, it no longer allows cryptocurrency use. That said, Alternative Airlines is another major travel player that has stayed true to the blockchain sphere, allowing users to book flights from a wide array of airlines, a list sixty hundred and fifty strong, giving them the option to pay using over one hundred cryptocurrencies. So, currently, and for a decade, it has been possible to travel and stay in different regions of the planet while paying with cryptos for this pleasure.
Real Estate
Most economists say that real estate is the cornerstone of any modern economy. And while it seems strange that this sector will embrace something that many still see as an unconventional payment method, it is happening with a staggering degree of success.
Kurg&Korsten is a premium estate agency based in Estonia’s capital, Tallinn. It specializes in providing personalized solutions for property management, rental, and sale. Kurg&Korsten has teamed up with crypto-fiat payment integration entity Swaps to utilize the On&Off Ramp software solution for its business offerings.
WordMetrics, citing sources such as prommodo.com, activerain.com, savills.co.uk, and the noted Fortune Business Insights, reports that by 2025, the real estate blockchain realm will boast a size of $3.8 billion. Asia alone should have a market of $2.8 billion, and WorldMetric adds that between 2017 and 2020, real estate’s crypto implementation jumped by 44.8%, showing that this industry’s interest in cryptos is swelling dramatically.
iGaming
Created by FireDuck, a BitcoinTalk forum user in the first half of 2021, Satoshi Dice was the first online gambling site that permitted Bitcoin wagering (on a simple dice game), which gained sizeable popularity on account of many gamblers creating automated bot scripts that facilitated auto progressive betting on this platform. That refers to algorithms that use negative and positive wagering systems, such as the Martingale and Paroli patterns.
Today, the online gambling industry pulls in annual revenues of over $100 billion, with experts guessing this figure will rise to $136 billion in the next five years. The number of crypto casinos operating on the Web is in the thousands, with top-rated sites permitting a wide range of cryptos. For example, Bovada allows Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, Litecoin, SV, and Cash. Stake Casino, which artist Drake promotes, lists almost twenty options, and it alone generated revenues of $2.6 billion in 2022.
According to recent estimates, between 2022 and 2023, the crypto gambling handle went up by 20%, with Bitcoin accounting for more than 70% of all online casino and sports bets.
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