Crypto is still in its early years, says Schulman

The cryptocurrency market is worth over $1 trillion, and many industry experts believe we are still in the early days.

The CEO of PayPal, Dan Schulman, told Fortune Magazine in a recent interview that he believes the cryptocurrency market is still in its early years. However, he added that PayPal is confident that cryptocurrencies will become crucial to the global financial system over the coming years.

Schulman said;

“We are in the early innings of crypto and digital currencies, but we clearly see it as a major part, and a redefinition of, the financial system… Look, there are a lot of naysayers. There are a lot of people who haven’t spent as much time studying this as some of us. But you look at the current financial system today, and it’s antiquated. It has a stubbornly high take rate. And the take rate is much higher for those who have less than those who have money.”

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology allow people to move money faster and cheaper, and Schulman said those features would be important in the financial ecosystem moving forward. He said;

“Any way we can move money faster is going to be extraordinarily helpful for those trying to make ends meet. Any way we can reduce the cost of those transactions is going to be tremendously valuable to those who most need it.”

Cryptocurrencies have become popular amongst both retail and institutional investors. This has prompted fintech companies like PayPal and its Venmo arm to launch cryptocurrency trading services.

PayPal allows its millions of customers around the world to buy, sell and store a few cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ether.

The cryptocurrency market cap reached an all-time high of $3 trillion in November 2021. However, the market has lost more than 60% of its value since then, and the total market cap currently stands at just around $1 trillion.