What’s in your crypto wallet?

To borrow from the familiar credit card commercial, what’s in your crypto wallet?

At first, cryptocurrency didn’t have much value, and financial professionals didn’t pay much attention to it. Recently, Forbes magazine reported that cryptocurrency prices rose to an estimated total value close to $2 trillion during the week of March 16.

Stephen Kelso, head of markets at ITI Capital, a multi-asset emerging market specialist in London, has been quoted saying he is seeing “a dramatic change” in the way institutional organizations are approaching cryptocurrency as an investment.

Bitcoin Magazine says Bitcoin is “better at being gold than gold” because it does not require trust in an intermediary, administrator, or appointment at a vault, due to its decentralized blockchain technology.

Tesla bought $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency last year. Mastercard, Home Depot, Wikipedia, and AT&T all now accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment. Microsoft accepts Bitcoin as payment for its online Xbox store.

In September 2020, the number of blockchain wallet users rose to more than 50 million, according to research published by Statista. Although Bitcoin has an estimated 7 million active users, there are many other cryptocurrencies in the marketplace, more notably, Ethereum and Litecoin. If you have a PayPal account, you can buy several different types of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin.

So what’s the attraction? For many, cryptocurrency is seen as a financial system that is fairer and doesn’t discriminate. With just an internet connection, customers can send, receive, and earn value from their cryptocurrency portfolio no matter their credit history or place of residence. People don’t even need a bank account from a traditional financial institution to get started.

So, what can you buy with cryptocurrency? The answer develops and grows daily. Companies, even city governments, are looking into accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment. In 2014, Overstock became one of the first big e-commerce sites to accept Bitcoin, and last June, Mastercard introduced a crypto-based debit card.

In a recent interview with the New York Times, Dan Schulman, CEO of PayPal, said making it possible to buy and sell crypto with a PayPal account would provide freedom to its adherents, including those who cannot get credit.

So now I have to ask you again, “What’s in your crypto wallet?” Give me your answer on Twitter @shervin.