Cryptocurrencies have arguably been the radical fintech innovation of the decade. In less than a decade, blockchain and crypto tech has unleashed a wave of innovation and ideas for the future of finance and payments.
As we complete 10 years of bitcoin, its value has increased from $0.03 in March 2010 to its current value of about $8,000.
However, the spike to $20,000 in 2017 due to an investor frenzy will not be forgotten and although it may not see these heights in the short term, we could expect more investor interest throughout the course of the next decade.
In addition, the recent global scrutiny surrounding Facebook and its Libra cryptocurrency project has certainly paved the way for further interesting developments. It was more of a timing issue, as Facebook already in the public eye for privacy issues when it came out with radical plans for its crypto token that immediately raised concerns with EU and U.S. authorities that Libra would circumvent monetary sovereignties.
In an increasingly liberal China, which is backing a digital Yuan in hopes of furthering worldwide adoption, a blanket regulatory approach from the west could hand digital supremacy to China and lead to a "splinternet" model.
While the 2010s marked an exploratory phase – introducing the concepts of crypto tokens and blockchain to the world – the 2020s will be the decade of innovation and application. Stable currencies with real world application and utility will yield actual value.
