Bitcoin Made Early Investors Stinking Rich but It’s No Mastercard Killer

It is true that both Visa and Mastercard have done well in the last decade. Those who invested in the two financial giants have been enjoying steady gains over time with little downside risks. Nevertheless, bitcoin is still the king of the hill. No individual asset comes close to the cryptocurrency’s gains. But bitcoin is far from disrupting the entrenched payment industry. A 2019 Nilson Report reveals that the combined purchase transactions of Mastercard and Visa in both debit and credit cards amount to nearly 100 billion. That number represents a 100 percent growth from the close to 50 billion purchase transactions of Mastercard and Visa in 2009.

In contrast, bitcoin is processing over 300,000 transactions per day or an estimated 109.5 million transactions per year. Back in 2009, the highest number of transactions that the cryptocurrency processed is eight. In a ten-year period, bitcoin’s daily transaction volume grew by 3,749,900 percent. While the growth of bitcoin’s transaction volume is impressive, the orange coin is not in a position to disrupt the payments industry. Mastercard and Visa are not threatened by bitcoin. Both companies are light years ahead of the cryptocurrency.

The 2018 World Cash Report shows that 75 percent of nations with available cash survey reveals that cash is used in one out of two transactions. In Europe, close to eight out of ten transactions are conducted with cash. In the U.S., Australia, and the Netherlands, the use of cash appears to be in decline. One of the reasons why cash remains the top payment medium is because roughly two billion people do not have a bank account.