For Bitcoin, 2020 was a year unlike any other. Records were broken, investor interest surged, and millions who’d never heard of crypto last year, now have their digital wallets filled with the stuff. The best part is—there’s no end in sight. Bitcoin continues to grow daily, with no peak rearing over the horizon to speak of. However, one consequence of this growth that many experts have neglected to address is the inevitable growing interest in offramping, or the exchange of crypto to fiat. When people buy, they also want the option to sell, and many platforms are yet to offer their users the ability to do so, perhaps not yet realizing the huge impact this could have on the expansion of the ecosystem.
And the growth keeps growing…
Last week, Bitcoin reached another new record high above $33,000, having tripled in value over the past year. According to Scott Minerd, Chief Investment Officer of Guggenheim Investments, the price should eventually climb to $400,00, showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.[efn_note]Marketwatch[/efn_note] As many throughout the world seek for an entrance to the ecosystem, Bitcoin is set on a path of huge growth for the upcoming year, and they are not the only ones.[efn_note]Reuters[/efn_note] Just last week, the price of Ether (ETH) surged past $730 for the first time since May 2018,[efn_note]Cointelegraph[/efn_note] and Polkadot (DOT) saw a 22.5% rise, capping weekly performance of nearly 34%.[efn_note]Cointelegraph[/efn_note] The signs are all there: crypto adoption is growing. Fast.
According to internal data, Simplex found that of the total amount of crypto sold in the last 6 months, 43% was offramped in the month of December alone, showing a clear pattern that reflects the December Bitcoin Boom. The same data showed that the offramp service proved most popular in regions such as The Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany, and Switzerland. To emphasize this growth pattern further, a Simplex partner recently reported that $150k worth of volume was generated by integrating Simplex’s sell solution over the span of just 2 months.
This onslaught of big investors and individuals onramping for the first time is bound to bring with it a large growing interest in offramping—a competitive advantage for any crypto exchange or platform that adds this functionality.
Cash out to cash in
The evidence of an increased interest in offramping is also clear in the growing number of crypto ATMs globally. Roughly 10,114 Bitcoin ATMs have already been installed worldwide, a number that continues to rise due to the convenience for those who want a quick and simple way to utilize their crypto earnings for daily purchases. Just a year ago, there were no more than 5500 ATM units, highlighting a current increase of 84% when compared to the 10,000+ that exist now.[efn_note]Entrepreneur[/efn_note] While the majority of these ATMs are located in North America, public interest is growing in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in the UK, which has just received 16,000 new units to install across the country.[efn_note]Finextra[/efn_note] More online exchanges could take advantage of this growth in public interest by providing an option for their users to sell in the current crypto climate.
Looking to the future
It is abundantly clear that as the rate of crypto adoption grows, so too will the interest in offramping. The increase in crypto ATMs worldwide only scratches the surface of what is to come in terms of public desire for freedom to cash out whenever and wherever they wish. Online exchanges that promote a sell feature are likely to be at a huge advantage if the rate of growth continues at its current pace. The perks don’t end there either: providing more opportunities for users to sell will create huge growth for the crypto ecosystem as a whole. What else can we ask for after all?
