The total amount of fees collected from BTC transactions reached $1 billion on Thursday, which is a significant step for the cryptocurrency community. However, it could have been better. There are a number of factors that have suppressed the blockchain’s growth, but things continue to move forward for the Bitcoin ecosystem. Jimmy Nguyen, the founding president of the Bitcoin Association, participated in an interview with media outlet Cheddar, explaining what’s going on and what is really driving growth.
The $1-billion mark achieved in BTC transactions shows that there is definitely growing use of digital currency. However, keeping BTC from realizing its true potential is the blockchain’s structure. As Nguyen points out in the interview, the lack of any type of on-chain scaling and the continued limitation brought with the blockchain’s small block size are preventing the digital currency solution from truly taking off.
Over the past couple of years, the number of transactions on the BTC blockchain have been falling off. This is also due to the limited block size, as other alternatives are sought as the ecosystem becomes better understood. On the other hand, the number of transactions on Bitcoin SV (BSV), for example, have increased since BSV was first seen a year ago.
One of the biggest drivers of blockchain adoption is almost certainly going to be the proactive approach being adopted by the Chinese government and, subsequently, Chinese businesses. The country has realized the value blockchain will have for sustained growth and operability, and is now launching a dedicated campaign to entice companies and other entities in the country to begin adoption and innovation of blockchain technology.
Nguyen points out that China’s stance isn’t necessarily one of support for digital currencies themselves, but, rather one of support for blockchain for enterprise usage. This is evidenced by the country’s continued strict regulations against crypto and crypto-related activity, while opening its doors to blockchain expansion.
Despite an apparent anti-crypto position in the past, though, China is also considering a move to launch the world’s first central bank digital currency (CBDC). Other countries are also in the process of introducing their own solutions, but it looks like China will beat them all. This is in response to the recognition that the majority of China’s younger population is more in tune with a digital world. Launching a digital currency would be received extremely well and quickly by this segment in particular.
Turning to Facebook and Libra, Nguyen acknowledged that there is some legitimacy to the effort Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is leading. However, the way he has been approaching the subject hasn’t adequate. Facebook and Libra now seem to have a “trial by error” mentality to the financial solution, which is a scary way to look at money. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, it would be smarter to launch a solution on a platform that is already operational and stable, such as BSV’s blockchain.
Watch Jimmy Nguyen’s interview with Cheddar:
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