Juniper Sees Bitcoin Usage Growing, But Not Among Retailers

Juniper Research issued a report on Tuesday suggesting that bitcoin adoption will increase over the next four years, but cautioned retailers against adopting it right away.

The cryptocurrency has had a rocky start, with its value plummeting and scandals depicting it as a tool for criminal activity fostering public skepticism.

However, with more and more enthusiasts working to bring bitcoin into mainstream use, its user base could continue growing.

Adoption To Rise

Juniper's report, titled "The Future of Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin & Alton Impact & Opportunities 2015-2019," predicted that bitcoin will have 4.7 million active users by the end of 2019, a significant increase from last year's 1.3 million.

That rise will likely be attributed to growing trust among investors as new regulations prevent the likelihood of fraudulent activities and money-making scams.

The study also said that bitcoin's value is likely to stabilize as adoption increases and more exchanges are developed.

Retailers Faced With Payments Questions

Despite the currency's projected growth, the study's author Dr. Windsor Holden cautioned retailers against adopting bitcoin as a form of payment right away.

Holden said retail adoption is likely to remain within niche industries; and that major retailers are better off waiting until the payments space has cleared to determine what type of transactions to invest in.

Now that Apple Inc. AAPL has entered the mobile payments space with its new Apple Pay system, retailers will probably focus on implementing that system over bitcoin.

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Blockchain To Develop

The report also echoed what many bitcoin enthusiasts have been saying since the cryptocurrency's beginnings— that the technology powering bitcoin is likely to expand into new arenas.

The ledger-like blockchain technology that bitcoin runs on has the potential to be used to eliminate the middleman and settle transactions without the lag time and expense of current systems.

For that reason, the next four years will probably see blockchain being used in new ways rather than simply to power bitcoin.