Cryptocurrencies have seen growing interest in recent years and only seem to be gaining popularity. The digital currency allows consumers to connect directly through a transparent process and exchange funds without the need of a third party, such as a bank.

Though some organizations and financial services have added cryptocurrencies as a service or turned to it as a business opportunity, cryptocurrency is still a relatively niche industry.

At the all-digital CES® 2021, industry experts discussed the cryptocurrency landscape in “The Cryptocurrency Landscape” and highlighted various ways new infrastructure is helping open new opportunities and encourage cryptocurrency adoption for the masses.

Bridging Traditional and Digital

Traditional financial systems of banks are where most people have their funds stored, explained Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Avanti Bank & Trust.

“We need bridges to go between traditional banks and the digital bank,” she said.

Avanti is a digital asset bank in Wyoming that helps create a regulatory and legal framework to welcome cryptocurrency in the traditional financial systems. A software platform with a bank charter, Avanti allows banks and financial institutions to support digital assets and ultimately help consumers more readily adopt cryptocurrency.

Tokenizing Physical Assets

Digitizing physical assets on blockchain enables users to better source, trade and track hard-to-access commodities. Traditional commodity transactions can have high credit risk and require long settlement periods. With tokenizing, assets that had previously been inaccessible to many investors can now be efficiently and securely transferred between owners.

Jeanine Hightower-Selitto, CEO of fintech startup Atomyze LLC, highlighted the example of transferring precious and industrious metals — the area in which Atomyze specializes. Tying precious metals, such as palladium, to tokens on blockchain allows transparent and immediate settlement and titled ownership, opening up access and maintaining ethical markets.

Lowering Costs and Barriers of Access

Catherine Coley, CEO of Binance.US, added that U.S. consumers need low barriers to entry for speedier cryptocurrency adoption that will grow the U.S. crypto marketplace. Binance.US offers a way for users of all levels to participate in the cryptocurrency ecosystem with dedicated support.

“What are the aspects that Americans need in terms of understanding how money moves?” Coley said. “First of all, they need education. Second of all, they need service. The best way to help people adopt something is to help them.”

Being able to customize the cryptocurrency landscape and process to a user’s experience level can help to minimize consumer hesitation with entering the space.

Reaching Consumers Where They Are

Institutional adoption of cryptocurrency can also help encourage consumers to enter the market. Matthew Roszak, chairman and co-founder of Bloq, Inc., explained that financial organizations such as PayPal and Venmo offering cryptocurrency options help reach demographics that might not normally explore cryptocurrency.

Instead of consumers needing to explore other platforms to enter the market, they can simply access cryptocurrency options directly on platforms they already use.

The panelists all anticipate increased activity and adoption of cryptocurrency in the coming years and that many large banks and institutions will soon start offering cryptocurrency services as well — further bridging the gaps between traditional finance and this growing digital opportunity.

Watch the full session to hear more about the future of the cryptocurrency landscape.