Experts within the digital currency space suggest that widespread acceptance of cryptocurrencies could be just around the corner. This shift would position digital assets as a mainstream option for making payments globally.
A study released in December by Crypto.com, a popular digital currency exchange, estimates that roughly 659 million individuals worldwide held cryptocurrencies by the close of 2025.
Looking ahead, broader adoption could potentially see the number of crypto users surge past 5 billion within the next decade, according to Thomas Prévot, who leads operations for Crypto.com in France.
“Reaching 5 billion users is a realistic target within the next 10 years,” Prévot stated during a panel discussion at the Waib Summit 2025 held in Monaco. He elaborated:
“We are likely only one growth surge away from cryptocurrencies being completely mainstream. I am not talking about merely a billion users, but aiming for the significantly larger figure of 5 billion.”
“One cycle is all it takes,” Prévot clarified, implying that this 5 billion user landmark would mean cryptocurrencies are as commonly used for transactions as credit cards are today.
However, Prévot anticipates the next significant leap in mainstream adoption will only occur after the market recovers from an anticipated downturn, coinciding with the beginning of the subsequent bull market phase.
Successfully attracting the initial billion users would denote considerable acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a credible payment alternative, fulfilling the original vision conceived by Satoshi Nakamoto, who designed Bitcoin (BTC) to be a secure, peer-to-peer platform for transactions free from censorship.
Widespread cryptocurrency adoption might propel Bitcoin toward a potential peak value of $700,000 per coin, based on a theoretical 3% portfolio allocation, as predicted by renowned Bitcoin analyst Willy Woo back in August 2024.
Woo
Pathways to a Billion: Speculation vs. Blockchain Utility
Roy van Krimpen, general manager for OKX exchange in Western Europe, suggests that initial growth toward a billion crypto users might be driven by retail interest in “price speculation,” akin to the market dynamics observed in 2021.
During the same panel discussion, van Krimpen noted, “Reaching the billion-user mark could occur through two primary mechanisms,” emphasizing that speculative trading serves as a “significant” catalyst for retail involvement. He further stated:
“The market surge witnessed in 2021, which more than quadrupled in mere months, largely stemmed from speculative trading activities among retail investors.”
“Alternatively, broader adoption could be driven by the real-world application of blockchain technology,” specifically in areas like payments. However, he added that this shift implies “changes in consumer behavior,” making it a process that unfolds more gradually than speculative-driven trends.
Other industry experts, including Chintan Turakhia, a senior engineering director at Coinbase, underscore the importance of user-friendly blockchain applications and improved accessibility as critical factors in attracting the first billion cryptocurrency users.
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