Bitcoin will reach half a million in the next ten years and a vast majority of the population will be using digital currencies in the next two decades, the founder of Transform Group, Michael Terpin said, adding that cryptocurrencies are where the internet was in 1997.

In an interview with the author, Terpin, who has also co-founded BitAngels, the world’s first angel network for digital currency startups, said outright banning of cryptocurrencies by any government was difficult and for that to happen, the internet would have to be shut down.

“Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether are the safest way of entering the market. You may hold or sell them whenever you want. Cryptocurrencies are still where the internet was in 1997. The industry will undergo several changes. Bitcoin was about $5 in 2011 and is now at $55,000. It will be at half a million in the next 10 years. In 20 years, a vast majority of the world population will be using cryptocurrencies,” he said.

Terpin, who also runs Aspire, an asset creation blockchain platform, noted if governments have over-reaching regulations, people may simply ignore them and continue using cryptocurrencies, like in Nigeria.

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“Governments don’t like to be ignored. Eventually, they will do what is in their interest like taxing or adoption. Overregulating does not help an upcoming industry too. For instance, the automobile sector grew slowly in its initial years, largely due to regulations like the requirement of a man who needs to wave a red flag to alert people of an oncoming car,” he said.

Asked to state the top three trends in the crypto industry, Terpin said crypto adoption in emerging markets like El Salvador and Argentina, where a high level of inflation has been a problem, is a major trend. “I believe cryptocurrencies will see the end of the US, G20, and European Union influence on emerging markets,” Terpin said.

The second trend, according to Terpin, is DeFi revolutionizing global finance and eliminating intermediaries like banks and brokers. “Soon, financial markets too will offer ‘DeFi funds’. DeFi provides high interest on savings and one can borrow at lower rates. Around $70 billion is now locked in DeFi markets and the figure will touch $1 trillion in 10 years,” he said.

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The third developing trend is NFTs, having seen a 1,000 percent growth in the last year, which is more than bitcoin. “NFTs have eliminated the middlemen in the creative industry. Artists have become their own distributors. NFTs will play the same role for artists that the internet played for writers.”

On the criticism that crypto mining is environmentally unsustainable, Terpin said over 70 percent of the mining uses renewable energy, which is a clean and least expensive form of energy, and that ATMs and gold mining consume more power than crypto mining. “In fact, there are bitcoin miners in the United States who are selling their unused electricity to the power grid,” he said.

Asked about the future of cryptocurrencies in India, especially in its rural areas, Terpin said, “I am sure that at least one person in a village has an internet-enabled smartphone. He or she can educate the village about cryptocurrencies like an evangelist. I believe the large Indian diaspora can play a major role in popularising cryptocurrencies by making them the mode of remittances.”

– Murtuza Merchant is a former journalist who works at The Transform Group and takes a keen interest in the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrencies.

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(Edited by : Yashi Gupta)

First Published:Nov 29, 2021 4:21 PM IST