NFT craze and institutional money to bring next 100 million crypto users, says Crypto.com CEO

Published at: March 26, 2021

Watch Cointelegraph’s latest interview with Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek to understand the catalysts that will push crypto to 200 million users. For more crypto and blockchain content, check out and subscribe to Cointelegraph’s YouTube Channel!

When adoption?

It took over a decade for crypto to reach 100 million users, or ~1% of the global population, according to a study by Crypto.com. But Marszalek expects the next 100 million users to arrive in a far quicker time frame.

He said:

“Going from 100 to 200 million is going to be much, much faster than going from, you know, 50 to 100 [million].”

He explained that the expansion of crypto’s network effect will result from a combination of converging trends.

All aboard the institutional money train

The arrival of notable institutions into the crypto space has signaled to many that mainstream adoption is underway. Household names such as Paypal and Tesla are beefing up their Bitcoin acquisitions and supporting Bitcoin payment rails for non-crypto native customers.

Marszalek commented:

“There is just a whole slew of financial institutions that now are putting a certain portion of their assets into Bitcoin. So that drives quite a lot of action.”

NFTeeing up adoption

NFTs have established themselves as the hottest topic of 2021 so far. The NBA, Jack Dorsey, and some of the most prestigious auction houses in the world are all cashing in on the craze. Marszalek is excited about the prospect of “top celebrities who have 100, 200 million followers, 250 million followers” getting their fan bases involved with crypto. He believes this could lead to a surge of new users:

“Today, culture is led by influencers who are just operating online. This is the perfect time for NFTs to actually go mainstream.”

Watch the full video to dive further into Marszalek’s arguments. If you enjoyed this content, check out and subscribe to Cointelegraph’s YouTube channel for more crypto interviews!

Tags
Related Posts
MicroStrategy purchases another $1 billion worth of Bitcoin, now owns 90,000 BTC
Business intelligence firm MicroStrategy increased its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings by 27% on Wednesday after purchasing an additional 19,452 coins, taking its total haul to 90,531 BTC. Announced on the company’s website on Wednesday, the coins were reportedly purchased for approximately $52,765 per coin, equating to an outlay of just over $1 billion. MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor said the firm’s focus was now twofold: grow its analytics software enterprise, and buy more Bitcoin. Saylor said, “The Company remains focused on our two corporate strategies of growing our enterprise analytics software business and acquiring and holding bitcoin." In the six months since …
Adoption / Feb. 24, 2021
‘Wahoo!’ Australian Taxpayers Alliance Exec Excited to Buy Bitcoin
A top executive from a prominent Australian taxpayer group has publicly endorsed the world’s biggest cryptocurrency by announcing her first ever Bitcoin purchase. Emilie Dye, director of policy at the Australian Taxpayers' Alliance, or ATA, tweeted on April 1 that she had bought her first Bitcoin: “Today, I made my first Bitcoin purchase. Wahoo!” This triggered excitement in the crypto community, with the tweet amassing about 5,900 likes as of press time. Dye clearly didn’t expect the excitement and later elaborated: “I couldn’t have asked for a warmer welcome to the Bitcoin fold. If anything, the number of comments and …
Adoption / April 3, 2020
France Passes Bill to Allow Insurance Providers to Invest in Crypto and Tokens
French insurance markets can now invest in cryptocurrencies, following the passage of a new law, foreign exchange news agency FXStreet reports April 11. On April 11, the National Assembly of France adopted a bill that is designed to stimulate local business development, including redirecting savings from individuals to businesses, according to local news agency Les Echos. According to Reuters, the Assemblee Nationale voted 147 in favor and 50 against. Known as “Plan d’action pour la croissance et la transformation des entreprises,” (Pacte) the act reportedly allows insurance providers in France to invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) with no …
Adoption / April 12, 2019
Small-time investors achieve the 1 BTC dream as Bitcoin holds $20k range
Ever since early Bitcoin (BTC) investors woke up millionaires as the ecosystem gained tremendous popularity alongside the mainstreaming of the internet, investors across the globe have been in the rush to accumulate as many of the 21 million BTC — one Satoshi at a time. With BTC recently trading at the $20,000 range for the first time since 2020, small-time investors found a small window of opportunity to achieve their dream of owning at least 1 BTC. On June 20, Cointelegraph reported that the number of Bitcoin wallet addresses containing one BTC or more increased by 13,091 in just seven …
Adoption / June 26, 2022
How to earn passive crypto income with Bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC), along with other cryptocurrencies, has provided people with a venue to earn passive income, making money without any active involvement. One doesn't need to take unnecessary trading risks or spend time reading and analyzing reams of information. While the concept of passive earning isn't new, cryptocurrency has undoubtedly added new dimensions to it. Concepts like compounding interest or reinvesting dividends are also applied in the cryptocurrency market, creating an ecosystem where one can earn passively. Let us discuss various ways to earn passive income with Bitcoin. This article includes interest accounts, lending, mining, trading and liquidity pool. Bitcoin …
Bitcoin / Oct. 6, 2022