Bitcoin now processes more dollar value than PayPal and could soon outdo Mastercard

Bitcoin now processes more dollar value than PayPal and could soon outdo Mastercard. Source: Getty Images

Bitcoin now processes more dollar value than PayPal

  • Bitcoin’s network has overtaken PayPal in the amount of dollar value it processes and could soon match that of Mastercard.
  • It currently processes 27% of Mastercard’s value.

Just 12 years into its existence, the Bitcoin network today already processes more dollar value than PayPal, a 23-year-old American digital payments company. Impressive as it is, experts reckon that the network could even outstrip credit card giant Mastercard in the number of dollar transactions value processed, as early as 2026.

In a recent report by market intelligence platform for blockchain and other distributed ledger technology, Blockdata, it was stated that the Bitcoin network processed about US$489 billion per quarter in 2021, which is greater than Paypal’s US$302 billion. 

Titled “When might the Bitcoin network process volumes like Mastercard and Visa?” the report said that after just 12 years in existence, Bitcoin processes about 27% of Mastercard’s US$1.8 trillion per quarter, and 15% of Visa’s US$3.2 trillion. “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,” it added.

Among the three factors that could see the Bitcoin network rise to the level of the two credit card giants in terms of total volume processed according to Blockdata is; the total number of transactions, the average amount of Bitcoin sent per transaction, and the rise of the price of Bitcoin.

The report however could not find current data indicating that the average amount of Bitcoin sent per transaction is on an upswing. While it is inevitable that the trend could change in the future, a rise in price to US$245,000 at the current volume would also bring Bitcoin to match Mastercard by 2026, Blockdata said.

Notwithstanding Bitcoin’s yearly average price, which if placed into consideration, could take as long as 2060 before the network is able to match that of Mastercard. Nevertheless, the report concluded Bitcoin has performed admirably well for a network that began a little over a decade ago.

In comparison to other cryptocurrency in the market though, Bitcoin has shown a steady rise in value over the years. At this point, there are many experts who believe Bitcoin is on its way to passing the US$100,000 mark, with no certainty on when it could actually happen, given its volatile nature. 

Overall, there are a growing number of companies across a plethora of industries who are embracing cryptocurrencies, allowing customers to use them as an official method of payment for goods and services. Visa, Mastercard and PayPal are one of them.