Written by: 0xjs@ Jinse Finance
Since the birth of Bitcoin in 2009, after 15 years and nearly 4 cycles of development, marked by the approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF by the US SEC, it can be said that cryptocurrency has completely entered mainstream society.
Unlike the rapid development of cryptocurrencies around the world, especially in the United States, the development of cryptocurrencies in China is relatively stagnant. In the current state relations, the most important is the national competition between China and the United States. Faced with the rapid development of cryptocurrencies in the United States, as Zhu Guangyao, former vice minister of the Ministry of Finance of China, said at the end of September , "the biggest gap between China and the United States is that (China) does not participate."
A stone from another mountain can be used to polish a jade.
Therefore, during the National Day holiday in 2024, Jinse Finance has made an incomplete statistics of the use cases of cryptocurrencies in various fields such as "food, clothing, housing, transportation, etc." in the United States to see the penetration of cryptocurrencies in the social lives of ordinary Americans.
First, the political sphere
In 2024, encryption has been fully embedded in the US election. Encryption has become the most eye-catching topic for candidates from both parties in the United States. Candidates from both parties in the United States are competing to win over users in the encryption industry.
In February 2024, the campaign team of former US President Trump announced that it would accept donations of crypto assets. In July 2024, Trump personally attended the Bitcoin 2024 conference in the crypto industry. He said that he would ensure that the United States would become the capital of cryptocurrencies and a Bitcoin superpower, and would use Bitcoin as a national strategic reserve. Trump once asked whether Bitcoin could be used to solve the problem of US national debt. In addition, Trump launched his own three NFT series in three years. On September 16, 2024, Trump and his son also announced the co-founding of a new crypto platform, World Liberty Financial, which aims to become a decentralized financial (DeFi) platform that provides services such as borrowing and digital asset storage. Vance, the vice presidential candidate selected by Trump, is a Silicon Valley VC and holds a large number of crypto assets.
Under the pressure of Trump's campaign, Harris plans to draw a line with the Biden administration's crypto suppression policy. Harris, the US vice president and next presidential candidate, said in a speech at the Pittsburgh Economic Club on September 22 that he would "maintain a leading position in artificial intelligence and quantum computing, blockchain and other emerging technologies," and officially stated that he would support digital assets. The latest news on October 4 showed that Mark Cuban revealed that the Harris team is actively seeking contact with the crypto industry and listening carefully to the industry's opinions.
Because of the crypto-friendly policies, crypto industry giants such as a16z, Gemini and the Winklevoss brothers have all sided with Trump. The crypto industry's super political action committee (PAC) raised nearly $170 million in campaign funds.
Meanwhile, online betting site Polymarket emerged as a rising star during the U.S. election . Although Americans need a VPN to use Polymarket, Polymarket's 2024 election betting data has become an important data for assessing the support rates of the two major U.S. candidates, Trump and Harris. Crypto products have begun to deeply influence the U.S. election.
There is no doubt that crypto voters are becoming increasingly important in the US election. Whoever is elected in the future will have to face up to the development of the US crypto industry.
invest
Coinbase : Founded in June 2012, Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States. It mainly provides crypto asset management services based on blockchain technology, including wallets, transactions, investments, payments and transfers. In addition, it also co-issued the US dollar stablecoin USDC with Circle. On April 14, 2021, Coinbase was successfully listed on the Nasdaq, becoming the world's first listed cryptocurrency exchange. According to Coinbase's financial report, its number of verified registered users exceeded 110 million, and the number of monthly trading users (MTU) was 9.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. This means that nearly 10 million Americans trade on Coinbase every month. These Americans can buy and trade crypto tokens such as Bitcoin on Coinbase.
Crypto mining companies: Trump once said that "all Bitcoins should be made in the United States." Although this is not possible for the time being, most of the world's major crypto mining companies are listed on the U.S. capital market. According to Jinse Finance statistics, there are currently 24 crypto mining companies listed on Nasdaq and NYSE, with a total market value of more than $25 billion .
The latest stock price data is as of October 4th
ETF: On January 10, 2024, the US SEC has 11 Bitcoin spot ETFs, see the figure below:
Because it is listed on national exchanges such as NASDAQ and NYSE, this means that ordinary Americans only need a stock account to buy Bitcoin spot ETFs like buying and selling stocks, which is almost equivalent to holding Bitcoin.
As of October 4, 2024, the total assets held by 11 Bitcoin spot ETFs in the United States have reached US$52.4 billion.
The number of bitcoins held has reached 927,000.
Paypal: As early as 2020, Paypal opened its cryptocurrency purchase service to American users. Users can purchase four cryptocurrencies, BTC, ETH, BCH, and LTC, on the PayPal platform, with a minimum purchase of $1. Paypal has more than 300 million active accounts, making it the American Alipay. Most Americans have a Paypal account .
In addition to Paypal, other major payment applications such as Visa, Square, Cash App, Stripe, etc. already support encryption services. Ordinary American users can purchase, transfer, and trade cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin through these apps.
In addition to the above investment applications or platforms, there are many giants in the United States that already support Bitcoin and encrypted payments, such as PayPal, Microsoft, AT&T, Starbucks, Whole Foods, Home Depot, Shopify and other well-known American companies.
Online Shopping
PayPal: As mentioned above, Paypal opened cryptocurrency purchase services to US users as early as 2020. Users can purchase four cryptocurrencies, BTC, ETH, BCH, and LTC, on the PayPal platform. In 2021, PayPal launched a feature called "Checkout with Crypto". PayPal US users will be able to choose to pay with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, or Bitcoin Cash, and PayPal will automatically convert it into US dollars and complete the transaction. Users can use cryptocurrencies at more than 26 million merchants around the world through PayPal's checkout function. This means that as an American, you can buy almost all goods in the PayPal merchant network, including electronics, clothing, etc. PayPal has now integrated cryptocurrencies into its platform, enabling users to buy, sell and store Bitcoin and other digital currencies and stablecoins. Paypal began issuing the US dollar stablecoin PYUSD in the fourth quarter of 2023. As of now, the issuance of PYUSD has exceeded US$1 billion. As a global leader in the payment field, PayPal's acceptance of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and stablecoins marks the thorough integration of cryptocurrencies into mainstream American society.
Overstock: Overstock is a well-known American online retailer that has been partnering with Coinbase to allow users to pay for online orders with Bitcoin since 2014.
NewEgg: An online retailer that sells computer hardware, consumer electronics and other goods. The company was one of the first to accept Bitcoin payments.
Shopify: Shopify allows store owners on its platform to enable crypto payment solutions to accept different cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.
Amazon Gift Cards: Although Amazon, the largest online retailer in the United States, does not directly accept crypto payments such as Bitcoin, you can buy Amazon gift cards with cryptocurrencies through many crypto gift card websites (such as Paypal, Bitrefill, Coinsbee, Cryptorefills, AMC Gift Cards, Coingate, etc.).
Gyft: Buy and send gift cards online from retailers like Amazon, Starbucks, and iTunes. The company accepts Bitcoin payments at no extra charge.
Telecommunications Services
AT&T: AT&T is the first major U.S. mobile operator to offer its customers a cryptocurrency payment option through BitPay.
T-Mobile and Verizon: Currently, all major mobile telecommunications services in the world can be recharged through crypto recharge service providers such as Bitrefill and Cryptorefills. Of course, major US telecommunications operators such as AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are also supported.
Home
Home Depot : The largest home improvement retailer in the United States, Home Depot is enabling customers to pay for tools, building materials, and services with Bitcoin, thanks to the Flexa Spedn app that simplifies cryptocurrency transactions. Americans can shop for building supplies, home appliances, gardening tools, smart home products, and more at Home Depot.
Sports, Entertainment and Games
NBA Dallas Mavericks: The Dallas Mavericks now accept Bitcoin as a payment method for game tickets and merchandise. BitPay will process all Bitcoin payments through the team’s website.
AMC: AMC, a well-known American cinema chain, announced that it will accept Bitcoin as a payment method for movie tickets by the end of 2021. This option will be available in all AMC theaters in the United States.
Twitch: The Amazon-owned game streaming platform accepts Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash as payment for its services. The company removed this option in March 2019 but then re-enabled it in June. You can donate to Twitch users directly from your Bitcoin wallet.
Restaurant Chain
Whole Foods: Whole Foods, the leading grocery chain in the United States, has partnered with the Flexa Spedn app to allow customers to pay with Bitcoin at checkout. This represents a major step forward in the everyday use of Bitcoin in retail shopping. Americans can shop for food, fresh produce, meat, seafood, and all other grocery necessities at Whole Foods.
Starbucks: Through the Bakkt payment platform, Starbucks allows customers to use Bitcoin to top up their Starbucks cards through the app, allowing them to indirectly purchase coffee and other items with cryptocurrency.
travel
Travala: Travala.com is the world’s largest crypto-friendly OTA. It offers a comprehensive range of travel products, such as hotel accommodation and tours, to numerous destinations. Services can be paid for using a variety of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. Travala.com is powered by the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
CheapAir: An American online travel agency founded in 1989 has started accepting Bitcoin through Coinbase and later changed its payment processor to BTCPayServer.
other
Microsoft: Microsoft will begin allowing users to use Bitcoin to recharge their Microsoft accounts through BitPay in 2021.
Namecheap: A leading domain registrar began accepting Bitcoin back in 2013 because it was requested by the company’s technical audience.
The Internet Archive: A San Francisco-based nonprofit digital library whose mission is to "universalize all knowledge" accepts Bitcoin donations. Its Wayback Machine contains hundreds of billions of web captures.
The Pirate Bay: An online index of digital content for entertainment media and software. The site has been accepting Bitcoin and cryptocurrency donations since 2013.
4Chan: 4Chan is an image board site popular with cryptocurrency users. Users typically post anonymously, with the latest post displayed above the rest. 4chan is divided into multiple sections, each with their own specific content and guidelines. Registration is not possible. The site accepts Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin as payment for 4Chan passes.
Mega.nz: A cloud storage and file hosting service launched in 2013 by Kim Dotcom (formerly Megaupload). The site accepts Bitcoin for account upgrades.
ExpressVPN: One of the largest virtual private network services that allows users to surf the Internet securely and privately. ExpressVPN is a subscription-based service that accepts Bitcoin.
Conclusion
From the above, we can see that the encryption industry represented by Bitcoin has entered all aspects of mainstream American society, from the general election to Wall Street to food, clothing, housing and transportation.
This trend is not only reflected in the acceptance of cryptocurrencies by capital markets, large companies and well-known brands, but also in the daily lives of ordinary Americans. More and more merchants and service providers are beginning to support cryptocurrency payments, making holding and using cryptocurrencies more convenient and common.
In short, the rise of the crypto industry has become an irreversible trend that is changing the socioeconomic landscape of the United States and even the world at an unprecedented speed.
As a historical trend, no matter if you "could not see" or "could not understand" it or "once rejected" it in the past, the most important thing is to participate in it "now".
