Bitcoin network surpasses Paypal on value processed, eyes Mastercard

The world’s largest decentralized cryptocurrency network, the Bitcoin (BTC) network has surpassed the volume by the dollar value of the multinational financial technology company Paypal. The network is now eyeing the Mastercard and can outstrip it by as early as 2026.

Blockdata, the market intelligence platform, published a report on November 23 titled “When might the BTC network process volumes like Mastercard and Visa?” The report notes that the BTC network processed around $489 billion per quarter this year, higher than Paypal’s $302 billion. 

After the recent mark of a new Bitcoin ATH at $69,000 followed by a 15% market correction, BTC has found a stable spot above $58,000 and aims at $60,000 to resume its upward journey.

The king coin processes around 15% of Visa’s $3.2 trillion per quarter and 27% of Mastercard’s $1.8 trillion.

Data from Datablocks

Factors that contribute to Bitcoin’s potential win

There are three elements that will primarily contribute to the Bitcoin network’s expansion to such heights:

• The number of transactions rises.
• The average amount of BTC sent per transaction rises.
• The bitcoin price rises.

The total number of transactions is the most tricky and variable-dependent factor. 

As per analysts, the second factor- the average amount of BTC sent per transaction is on an upward trend. This could change in the future, but the report finds that an increase in the price of Bitcoin to around $245,000 at the current volume will definitely bring BTC to the level of Mastercard, and this factor is more likely to happen than the increase in volume.

“If Bitcoin were to increase its value transferred per transaction today by ~260%, it would be processing an equivalent volume to Mastercard on a daily basis,” the report says.

Blockdata further says that with just the average rise in Bitcoin prices on a yearly basis, one cannot expect a level near Mastercard before 2060. However, if one takes the growth rate of the BTC in 2021 into account as a metric, it could happen as early as 2026.

As TheCoinRise reported about the long-term Bitcoin holders hitting a multi-year high, it has the potential to surpass Mastercard and Visa in the coming years.