Out of the last global financial crisis of 2008, people were fed up with the governments and the central banks printing money as a means to get out of the crisis. When governments print money, they are giving themselves money by devaluing the money you have. They are robbing you to pay themselves.

Bitcoin was invented by an unknown person (or group of people) using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 and it went live in 2009. This is no coincidence that it was so close to the financial crisis and it was hoped by the Bitcoin community that it would be the answer to future financial problems.

However, over a decade later, here we are again with a huge financial crisis - albeit this one is born from Covid-19 impacting our world. We find that cryptocurrencies still haven't become as big as people had hoped.

In fact, the main users of cryptocurrencies are a bunch of cryptocurrency enthusiasts who like talking to each other about PoW, PoS, DPoS, halving, decentralisation and immutable transactions. It is easy to excite each other about developments when we are all passionate about the same subject.

So what challenges do we have that are preventing widespread adoption of cryptocurrency?

Adoption Challenges

1. Utility

My number one reason is utility. People need to know "why" they should use it. Sometimes I read new blog posts and articles about the latest cryptocurrency developments - they are often very technical. I was reading one early that was talking about "customisable side chains" and "leverages zero knowledge cryptography". This is techy speak for techies. What we are failing to do is to explain to the average Joe, why they need cryptocurrency and the utility value it will provide for them. Without answering the "why", we will never sell the concept. Cryptocurrency platforms need to develop real use cases to help drive adoption forwards.

2. Usability

I am sure you have all met that relative who struggles with the most basic computer-based activity. A lot of people are scared of technology and most of our cryptocurrency applications are incredibly complicated. We need to continually focus on improving usability so that we can attract a wider audience to adopt our projects. Many of the projects are far too complex at the moment for the average Joe.

3. The Whales

With many cryptocurrency projects that become popular, there is a real gold rush in the beginning. Early adopters can make a lot of money if the project is successful. However, often as the platform becomes popular those early adopters then become whales and they can use their power on the blockchain to manipulate the situation for their own benefit. We see this with Bitcoin prices movements and it is often the minnows who get eaten alive. The actions of the whales then make the project undesirable for some to invest in as they see instability. The hope is that these projects become big enough that the whales can no longer dominate but all projects have struggled to reach that goldilocks zone of perfect market conditions.

4. FUD

Fear, uncertainty and doubt - FUD - has been a big problem for many technology projects and cryptocurrency is right at the top with so much FUD being spread. There are a lot of people who don't want cryptocurrency to be successful because they may perceive it as a threat to their own wealth, products or livelihood. To combat FUD, we need positive PR because some of the people who spread FUD have vast access to media etc. They can use this to sew the seeds of doubt with potential adopters. The evidence of this is clear if you ask the average Joe about how they perceive cryptocurrency.

These are my top 4. What do you all think? Are there other reasons that I have missed?