2021 was a big year for mass crypto adoption – and no, we don’t mean El Salvador. To play NFT games thousands quit their jobs, so corporations like Adidas (OTC) and PwC joined in the virtual real estate rush. Major payment processors such as CoinsPaid witnessed a 34% increase in volume, which shows that crypto is on its way to mainstream.

Global Adoption Index records an 880% increase

Chainalisys claims that crypto adoption has increased by 880% in the last two months. This isn’t the same as the number of users, though: the Global Crypto Adoption Index is calculated based on retail transaction volume and P2P trading activity weighted by the pro-capita purchasing power. Analysts were then able to spot countries with high adoption, even when the average income was low. The leaders of this list are India, Pakistan, and Vietnam.

El Salvador doesn’t appear to be in the top-20. This is despite many hailing it as the emerging crypto-hub after its legalization last summer. There is not evidence that Salvadoreans are using Bitcoin as much, despite the hundreds of cryptocurrency ATMs being installed and the ongoing purchases of BTC by the government (which seem to always come right before major price drops).

At the same time, El Salvador provides a good foothold for western crypto businesses wishing to enter the markets of other Latin American countries from Chainalisys’ top 20, such as Venezuela, Argentina, Colombia, and Brazil. One of the first to use this opportunity is CoinsPaid, the world’s second-largest crypto payment provider. To prepare for the 2022 expansion of Latin America, CoinsPaid registered an El Salvador-based business entity.

According to CoinsPaid, crypto payment volume has increased by 340%

Retail payment volume[1] [2] [3]This is an arguably better adoption metric that exchange trading volume and overall transactions. These are biased towards market makers and institutions. That’s why it’s important to study the volumes handled by major cryptocurrency gateways, such as CoinsPaid or Coinbase (NASDAQ:) Pro, which facilitate purchases on sites that accept Bitcoin.

CoinsPaid released the 2021 final numbers on January 1. The overall volume grew by impressive 340% over the previous year to reach 5.55 billion euros. The average transaction size increased 170% while the total number of transactions rose by 170%. The monthly transactions reached 1 million for the first times in 2021.

CoinsPaid also became the first crypto processor large enough to issue its own token in 2021. CPD IDO’s first run on multiple blockchains (, BSC and Polygon), as well as the biggest DEX liquidity at TGE (Token Generation Event), which was $1.6 Million. Since the IDO, the price of $CPD rose by over 300% by December 2021 – and is still trading 50% above the IDO price even after the market-wide correction.

Merchants can get discounts up to 50% by staking $CPD. Regular CPD holders can also participate in a yield-farming program.

CoinsPaid intends to list $CPD at several popular centralized platforms and launch a major token marketing campaign that targets regions like Latin America and Turkey. The company’s example shows that Bitcoin payments and DeFi can be bridged, and it will be interesting to see if other large processors follow CoinsPaid’s example in 2022.

In the Philippines, P2E gaming income is replacing salaries

Philippines is only no.15 in Chainalisys’ rankings, but this country became the hotspot for the arguably biggest blockchain trend of 2021: play-to-earn gaming. Trung Nguyen, a Vietnamese tech billionaire, created the NFT-based game ‘The Game of Life. It provided new income opportunities for thousands of Filipinos that were affected by the epidemic.

The prices for AXS (the Axie main in-game currency), and SLP (the main Axie-in-game currency) reached their highest levels in summer 2021. Successful players made double their monthly salaries by only playing an hour to two hours per day. Many even bought homes with the benefits. Many became ‘sponsors’, helping new players buy into the game in exchange for a 50% cut of their earnings.

The token prices fell in fall and the average daily earnings of Axie Infinity dropped below the minimum wage. However, play-to-earn is much greater than Axie. As new players flock to Gods Unchained, Aavegotchi, Splinterlands, and other games, it’s clear that P2E has become one of the biggest mass adoption drivers.

PwC and Adidas purchase land in the metaverse

A parallel virtual reality that users use to communicate with their avatars, shop or spend time leisurely in is called the metaverse. Although there is supposed to be one metaverse in theory, many blockchain-based virtual worlds and games call themselves metaverses. Decentraland and The Sandbox are just a few examples of the metaverses.

Each platform sells parcels of virtual property, which can then be monetized through leasing or advertising. For example, a company can open a virtual store and sell NFTs representing ‘digital twins’ of its real-world products. One parcel can cost between $10,000 to $100,000 and the record is $4.3 million.

It is possible to make money in the metaverse by monetizing land. This will allow you to attract new customers and increase your revenue. PwC Hong Kong is the latest consultancy giant to purchase a plot within The Sandbox. It follows in the footsteps of Adidas, and famous rapper Snoop dogg.

It may be a temporary trend that turns out to become the new retail craze. NFT-based digital products sold in the metaverse could have a premium collectible value, driving more and more brands into the blockchain space – definitely something to watch for in 2022.

The crypto industry has waited for institutions to arrive for years. But 2021 proved that retailers can also drive adoption. Companies like CoinsPaid handled billions in BTC payments via e-commerce and gaming websites, handling over $1 trillion. PwC, among others, made metaverse land acquisitions in response to retail demand. If this trend continues in 2022, it will be a strong sign that institutional demand isn’t the holy Grail of mass adoption after all – and that cryptocurrency is indeed an asset class for the people.

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