One Billion People Will Use Crypto Within the Next 10 Years

Brian Armstrong, the CEO of popular cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, said at the ongoing Milken Institute Global Conference on Monday that one billion people would have used or attempted to use crypto within a decade.

One Billion Crypto Users in 10 Years

Armstrong, alongside Cathie Wood, CEO of investment management firm ARK, spoke during a session at the conference. It was then that the Coinbase CEO shared his prediction about the users of crypto.

“My guess is that in 10-20 years, we’ll see a substantial portion of GDP happening in the crypto economy,” he said.

Despite the comments made by crypto skeptics, Armstrong is confident about his prediction, noting that about 50% or more of Washington, D.C. population are already into crypto.

“It’s been harder and harder to meet a true crypto skeptic in D.C.,” he said.

Not the First Time

This is not the first time Armstrong has predicted that the total number of crypto users will hit the one billion mark. In September 2018, Coinfomania reported that the Coinbase boss said he expects one billion people to be in crypto before the end of 2023. 

While the prediction is yet to come true, Armstrong has now re-echoed his guess, giving ten years as the new time frame.

In 2021, crypto payment gateway TripleA estimated the total number of crypto users globally to be over 300 million. Interestingly, Coinbase currently serves about 89 million users from over 100 countries. 

Cathie Wood Bullish on DeFi

Meanwhile, ARK’s Cathie Wood is also bullish about cryptocurrency, especially in the area of decentralized finance (DeFi). DeFi enables crypto users to access trading, lending and borrowing services directly on different exchange platforms without the need for third-parties such as banks.

“In the case of DeFi and next-generation internet, we are seeing a lot of financial companies losing talent to crypto, [. . .] So they have to take it seriously, or else they are going to be hollowed out,” she said.