Key Highlights
- The cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, is rapidly gaining adoption in the mainstream financial market and global remittance
- Elon Musk has affirmed that Bitcoin is the true store of value, as its computing power
- While Bitcoin is still facing issues in scalability, there are other alternatives, like stablecoins are rapidly becoming a part of the global finance system
In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto unveiled a white paper that introduced Bitcoin to the world for peer-to-peer transactions. In 2026, the role of Bitcoin has changed. Cryptocurrencies are not just investment assets, as they are being used in cross-border payments. Apart from this, some cryptocurrencies have landed on corporate balance sheets, while some of them have even become part of national strategies in some parts of the world.
While the crypto market is still highly volatile, there is no doubt that its adoption is rapidly growing. This is not just hype, but real institutional adoption amid regulatory developments in major economies, and practical use cases that are solving real-world problems. The collective transaction volumes of cryptocurrency have soared to new levels. But many experts are saying that cryptocurrency might become a universal currency if things go well.
Elon Musk Says, Bitcoin is a Great Store of Value
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, has recently called Bitcoin a great store of value by citing its mechanism. In late 2025, Musk mentioned a thesis, which called energy the “true currency.”
JUST IN: Elon Musk says #Bitcoin is a fundamental currency based on energy 👀
“Energy is the true currency” pic.twitter.com/sTWKLKV0Fd
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) November 30, 2025
He said that Bitcoin’s mining process, which consumes energy to create a new Bitcoin, makes it a better asset than fiat currency or even gold. Gold and fiat currency are mainly dependent on collective trust. These traditional assets are vulnerable to actions by governments engaged in global spending races.
Musk’s companies, Tesla and SpaceX, are holding impressive amounts of Bitcoin on their balance sheets. He views Bitcoin as “digital gold.” In 2026, some reports suggest that Musk’s social media platform, X, is preparing to launch in-app Bitcoin and crypto trading for its user base. If this happens, traders believe that it could expose roughly 700 million people to digital assets.
These statements from Elon Musk show that there is trust in Bitcoin’s scarcity model. It could play a role as a hedge in a world of infinite fiat printing.
How Crypto is Being Used in Global Trade and Remittances
Cryptocurrencies are slowly becoming a part of international commerce by addressing issues where the traditional financial system faces problems.
One of the Latin American countries, El Salvador, already announced Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. This helped the country to see economic growth.
Amid tariff wars and other geopolitical tensions, the adoption of cryptocurrency is also increasing. In 2024, Russia legalized cryptocurrencies for cross-border settlements after facing intense Western sanctions. This adoption helped the country boost exporters and importers by avoiding restricted financial channels like SWIFT.
However, the role of cryptocurrency in global remittances has also increased. Traditional platforms like PayPal are often slow and expensive. According to World Bank data, the average fee for a cross-border transfer is still above 6%. This makes the transactions very expensive for low-income workers sending money to developing countries.
But cryptocurrencies and stablecoins can resolve this issue. By using cryptocurrencies, one can reduce costs with instant settlement.
By early 2026, stablecoin payments for cross-border flows have reached annualized rates in billions of dollars of transactions. This can help migrant workers in sending money back to their families. In regions like Africa and the Asia-Pacific, countries like Nigeria and India are leading in adoption.
Can Bitcoin Become the Universal Currency?
Bitcoin is known for its security and decentralization. It has a fixed supply of 21 million coins. This fixed supply helps them to hedge against inflation. This makes it an asset that does not answer to any single government. It has a borderless nature. It is already being used by the unbanked people. It allows them to do censorship-proof transfers of money anywhere in the world.
However, there is still volatility linked with Bitcoin. The Bitcoin network can only handle about seven transactions per second, which is very low in comparison to payment giants like Visa.
Apart from this, its legal status is still unknown in some countries, while many countries are legalizing it. This creates a fragmented environment for it.
Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya recently stated that Bitcoin’s lack of privacy is a major problem.
Apart from this, Jefferies’ global strategist Christopher Wood also took a strange decision in January 2026. This dumped his Bitcoin holdings and reallocated them to gold. His major concern was the growing threat of quantum computing. He cited a report that says that between 20% and 50% of all bitcoins could become vulnerable to theft.
Stablecoins Gain Unique Identity in Global Economy
These assets use the efficiency of blockchain technology with a price pegged to a stable asset like the USD. The stablecoin adoption is rapidly growing. Global stablecoin transaction volume soared by 72% to a record $33 trillion in 2025, according to the official report.
$USDC alone processed $8.4T in January, more than double Visa’s entire Q1 payment volume of $4T. https://t.co/98F1N7sJo1
— Artemis (@artemis) February 3, 2026
In January alone, total on-chain stablecoin volume surpassed $10 trillion. In this, the popular stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC), alone has processed more than $8.4 trillion. This volume is the combined monthly payment volumes of Visa and Mastercard.
Conclusion
The IMF data suggest that the USD is still holding an important place as it is responsible for over 56% of global reserves. No asset or cryptocurrency can easily replace it. However, the crypto adoption is rapidly growing and according to experts, this could help it to make its place in the global financial system.
Also Read: Why ETH/BTC Above 0.06 Could Signal the Next Altseason
See less
