• Wells Fargo has compared the current crypto adoption to the Internet in the late ’90s, back when most of today’s giants were just launching.
• The bank says it’s not too late to invest in crypto but says that the industry is just about to get into an inflection point of hyper-adoption.

Is it too early or too late to get into crypto – this is the question that one of the world’s biggest asset managers sought to address in its latest report. Wells Fargo Investment Institute’s report says it’s not too late to get into crypto, but it believes we’re getting into an inflection point of hyper-adoption with crypto.

Titled “Cryptocurrencies – Too early or too late,” the report acknowledged that crypto users are growing rapidly off a low base. Comparing the current adoption of crypto to the Internet in the 1990s, it pointed out that we could be heading to a period of hyper-adoption.

It summarized its findings, stating:

We believe that cryptocurrencies are viable investments today, even though they remain in the early stages of their investment evolution. We recommend professionally managed private placements for now as the investment landscape is still maturing.

“Early, but not too early”

Currently, there are 221 million cryptocurrency users across the globe, according to a recent study by Crypto.com, a crypto exchange. This number more than doubled in 2021 as cryptos shot to mainstream popularity. In comparison, about 145 million Americans own stock in listed companies. In India, only about 3.7 percent (or 51 million), and in China, it’s about 12.7 percent (178 million).

But as adoption soars, are those who have yet to buy some Bitcoin too late to get into the movement?

Wells Fargo says they aren’t. According to the banking conglomerate, those getting in now are in the “early, but not too early” bracket.

If this trend continues, cryptocurrencies could soon exit the early adoption phase and enter an inflection point of hyper-adoption, similar to other technologies. There is a point where adoption rates begin to rise and do not look back.

“Precise numbers aside, there is no doubt that global cryptocurrency adoption is rising, and could soon hit a hyper-inflection point,” the bank added.

In support of its argument, the bank noted that most cryptos are less than five years old. Even Bitcoin, the oldest, “has much maturing to do.” BTC, despite being around since 2009 is still four times more volatile than gold.

The current adoption rate, the report added, is similar to the Internet in the ’90s, a comparison that has been made by a growing list of institutions and individuals.

As the graph shows, crypto is in a similar position to the Internet in the year 2000. Back then, Google was just over one year old, Amazon was six years old and Facebook would not be founded for another four years. It’s therefore possible that many of the projects that will dominate the crypto universe for years to come are still not founded.

Wells Fargo summed it up:

There is no need to rush, as most of the opportunity lies before us, not behind us.