Cryptocurrency: Redefining the Future of Finance

Cryptocurrency is a thriving ecosystem, quietly encroaching on conventional finance’s territory.

Over the last five years, Bitcoin users and transactions have averaged a growth rate of nearly 60% per year. Similarly, private and public investors have deepened their commitment to cryptocurrencies including Ethereum, Ripple, and Stellar—and a number of others across the industry.

Today’s infographic unpacks a cross-section of cryptocurrencies, stakeholders, and core applications across a sector that’s continuing to grow in importance.

The Evolution of Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency has erupted into a $200 billion industry, sparking a wave of global disruption.

At the heart of cryptocurrency is a rich history of innovation. It extends back to the 1980s with advances in the field of cryptography—eventually leading to the technology that forms encryption techniques designed to protect the network.

Since then, a series of key events have continued to shape the sector.

Now, there are over 5,000 cryptocurrencies in circulation, with many built on innovative applications and use-cases as the ecosystem rapidly evolves.

The Value of Cryptocurrencies

Today, crypto offers cutting-edge advances that are diverse and transformative. In addition, it could also be considered an investment in tomorrow’s financial system—decentralized finance (DeFi).

DeFi is an emerging alternative financial system that is built on a public blockchain, which enables greater accessibility because anyone has the ability to connect to it. Additionally, transactions are publicly visible, enabling greater transparency across the system.

Here is a refresher on some of the practical advantages being applied across cryptocurrencies.

The Key Players in the Crypto Landscape

The cryptocurrency ecosystem is growing rapidly. Worldwide, private and public actors recognize its potential across many domains.

Who are the primary participants in the field today?

Private Actors

1. Institutional Investors
   Harvard Endowment Fund, Crypto Hedge Funds
2. Cryptocurrency Exchanges
   Coinbase, Bitstamp
3. Banks & Finance
   J.P. Morgan, Fidelity Investments, Swissquote
4. Tech
   IBM, Microsoft
5. Power & Utilities
   RWE

Public Actors

1. Governments
   Venezuela
2. Central Banks
   China, Sweden, Saudi Arabia
3. Organizations
   Crypto Valley Association, Global Digital Finance

The rising popularity of crypto is bolstering new policies and adoption, as evidenced by the many players trying to break into the space.

The Big Picture:

As crypto continues to gain momentum, its longer-term implications will come into focus. Crucially, its cryptographic foundation sets the stage for future advances in finance.

1. Privacy
   Anonymized transactions protect users data through cryptographic techniques
2. Access
   Providing a new financial model for 1.7B unbanked individuals around the world
3. Efficiency
   Steep reductions in settlement time and efficacy could save consumers $16 billion annually
4. Security
   Providing immutable, traceable records of security-rich transactional networks
5. Programmable Money
   Smart contracts could drastically eliminate manual and administrative work⁠— ultimately bypassing them altogether

Rooted in decentralized and autonomous systems, cryptocurrencies are creating second-order effects in the financial world. Ultimately, cryptocurrencies are helping to transform finance as we know it—unlocking countless investment opportunities across the global economy.

5G Revolution: Unlocking the Digital Age

Imagine if you were to jump straight from using a typewriter one day, to typing on a laptop the next. The speed and ease at which it would improve your tasks is undeniable.

With 5G, we’re on the cusp of a similar transition in the global communications system. Total connectivity could soon be at our fingertips.

Today’s infographic breaks down the potential that 5G promises, and the immense opportunities stemming from its implications for smart tech and the Internet of Things (IoT).

A Timeline of Wireless Generations

The world’s appetite for wireless speed has been insatiable. We’ve powered through five generations of wireless connectivity in just 40 years.

• 1982-1990s: Analog 1G
  1G only supported voice calls, and little else.
  Data bandwidth: 1.9 kbps
• 1990s: Digital 2G
  2G supported text, picture, and multimedia messaging (SMS, MMS).
  Data bandwidth: 14.4 kbps – 384 kbps
• 2000s: 3G Smartphone Era
  The first 3G networks go online, supporting high-quality audio and video, and international roaming.
  Data bandwidth: 2 Mbps
• 2010: 4G Streaming Era
  4G and LTE supported HD video streaming, and is deployed in Europe, and later in the U.S.
  Data bandwidth: 2 Mbps – 1 Gbps
• 2019-Present: Full Speed Ahead to 5G?
  South Korea first launches 5G across the country, followed by 50 cities in China. The U.S., UK, and Germany also roll out 5G on a limited basis.
  Data bandwidth: 1 Gbps – >10 Gbps

*k/M/Gbps: kilobytes/ megabytes/ gigabytes per second.

The global 5G market is projected to reach $668 billion at a 122% compound annual growth rate (2020-2026), with nearly half this growth coming from Asia-Pacific.

4G versus 5G: What’s the Difference?

5G is on the verge of taking off. What sets it apart from its predecessor?

For starters, 5G’s speed improvements are something to behold—it is up to 20x faster than 4G. On 4G, an average movie takes 6 minutes to download. With 5G, it will take less than 20 seconds.

In other benefits, 5G supports 10x more devices per square kilometer. As a result, 5G will be able to seamlessly handle many more devices, within the same area as before. This is pivotal for its use in the imminent Internet of Things (IoT).

Finally, latency is the delay (lag), or the time that it takes to send data from point A to point B. With 5G, latency plunges 25x compared to 4G. This results in almost instantaneous data transfers.

5G will go from promise to roll-out in 2020.

—Morgan Stanley

Beyond the Smartphone

5G is one of the most anticipated technologies of our time, and with good reason. In the coming years, the partnership between 5G and the IoT could bring about a boom in smart tech, and this effect could trickle into growth for the economy and investor portfolios.

The 5G network is the perfect backbone for the IoT—supporting increasing device numbers, facilitating growing data transfers, and improving response time among connected devices.

According to McKinsey, 5G will likely speed up the mainstream adoption of the IoT across multiple industries:

1. Transport

5G enables self-driving cars to make “split second” decisions, making them safer. These cars can also connect to buildings, street lights, other cars, and even pedestrians in smart cities—responding rapidly to any issues and improving traffic flow.

These two use cases are estimated to bring a $170-$280 billion global GDP boost to the mobility sector by 2030.

2. Manufacturing

5G could usher in high-tech industry, using AR/VR to boost productivity and precision. Analytics and advanced robotics in smart factories can streamline manufacturing processes, leading to efficiency gains and cost savings. Altogether, the impact could be a $400-$650 billion GDP boost to the industry by 2030.

3. Healthcare

While robotic surgeries are not new, 5G could allow these procedures to occur remotely.

Wearables and other smart medical devices provide real-time updates on patients, and make accurate diagnoses. These two applications will contribute an additional $250-$450 billion in GDP to the healthcare space by 2030.

A New Wireless Era

5G is only scratching the surface of its full potential, though a few caveats remain before it can scale successfully. A whole new lineup of infrastructure will be needed to support this latest wireless generation, including enabled devices, network density and access, and getting telecoms operators and carriers on board.

The complete uptake of 5G will take a few years to realize. But as the technological shift continues to unfold, investors can take advantage of the wave of opportunities it presents.

5G is more than an upgrade—it’s a crucial transformation of major segments of the economy.