According to a recent NYDIG report, Bitcoin resolved more transactions in Q1 2021 than other credit card networks combined.
In 2021, the volume of transactions on the Bitcoin network surpassed that of American Express and Discover, according to new data.
As shown in a forecast published by NYDIG Research Weekly on Jan. 29, Bitcoin processed $3 trillion in payments in 2021. Putting it above prominent credit card networks American Express ($1.3 trillion) and Discover ($0.5 trillion).
Thus according to NYDIG, this is amazing growth for a payment network that recently celebrated its 13th birthday. The first American Express card was issued in 1958 and the first Discover card was created in 1985.
A Long Way To Go
However, the Bitcoin network is still far behind Visa and Mastercard, which handled $13.5 and $7.7 trillion in transactions, respectively.
It’s also worth mentioning that the study only looked at dollar volume, not transaction volume.
As a result, it’s likely that most BTC transactions were consumers trading, selling, or purchasing BTC rather than using it to pay for something.
While Bitcoin’s transaction volume growth hasn’t always been continuous, Cipolaro and Kochav argue it for the last five years.
Bitcoin Analysis
According to a Block data research published in November 2021, the Bitcoin network might match Mastercard’s network by 2026. It discovers that the Bitcoin network already handles more volume than PayPal in terms of dollar value.
This may happen as early as 2026 or as late as 2060, according to Block data.
The number of transactions, the average amount of Bitcoin sent per transaction, and the rise in Bitcoin price might push the Bitcoin network over the two credit card behemoths in terms of total volume processed.
In 2021, the Bitcoin network expects to produce roughly $489 billion per quarter, compared to $302 billion for PayPal.
The measure of Bitcoin transaction volumes does not show the raw volume of on-chain transactions. But instead depends on statistical analysis by data providers (such as Glassnode) to filter out transactions that aren’t economically significant.
The report includes intra-entity transactions or trades between accounts within the same wallet or firm.
This may, for example, apply to a cryptocurrency exchange that constantly moves Bitcoin between several addresses. To put it another way, the $3 trillion figure should regard with a grain of salt.
