Mass adoption is a frequent topic of discussion among the members of the Bitcoin community. There is virtually no disagreement about the fact that Bitcoin would eventually go mainstream and that it would be a great thing.
Having a larger user base opens up more and better business opportunities, increases the demand for Bitcoins - and, by extension, their price. It also makes it more feasible for business owners to enable Bitcoin payments at their stores and brings other countless benefits to the participants of the market.
However, there are many wildly differing opinions out there when it comes to the questions of how mass adoption can be achieved, what factors are hampering the adoption rates right now and whether Bitcoin can become ‘everyday money’ at all.
Back in late 2013, when the cryptocurrency was experiencing mainstream media coverage for the first time, coupled with unprecedented growth in price, some were expecting Bitcoin to receive global recognition within the next couple of years.
By now it is evident that the prophesied mass adoption has not yet come. But Bitcoin isn’t going to die any time soon either, despite what some of the detractors
would have you believe. The question then becomes, when is global recognition realistically possible and what has been preventing it so far?
The factors impacting the rate of Bitcoin adoption can be roughly divided into three groups: technological, utilitarian and psychological. Let’s take a look at what progress has been made in these three directions so far, and what remains to be done.