Did 2019 Deliver on All That Was Promised for the Crypto Industry?

Adoption missing?Where are the giant blockchain or crypto projects - enterprises that seize the imagination, rivet the public's attention, and quiet the crypto skeptics? As Nouriel Roubini noted last year, "[Blockchain] still has only one application: cryptocurrencies.

Only five crypto and blockchain firms made the 2019 "Fintech 50" list: Coinbase, Ripple, Bitfury, Gemini and Circle - compared to 11 in 2018.The industry is still looking for a flagship application.

"People need a simple use case that makes the benefits of blockchain technology clear and straightforward, like email," said Chris Hart of Civic Technologies in a recent report published by the Zage marketing platform.

Institutions are still scarceKiller DApps, scalability and institutional adoption are often cited as three missing ingredients required for blockchain to reach the tipping point in public acceptance.

Consumer adoption lagsMany experts agree that usability must improve before the wider public adopts crypto and blockchain networks.

The industry should not only comply with regulations, it should welcome them - at least if it wants to grow, as Lone Fønss Schrøder, CEO of the Concordium blockchain solution, told Cointelegraph: "I am certain that big companies will not go beyond the proof of concept stage on a chain that doesn't enable the authorities to regulate." Firms are going to need the validation that regulation grants.

"Most people still associate blockchain with volatile cryptocurrencies and IPO scams," Schrøder noted, adding that, "In the blockchain space we have a shared responsibility to educate business leaders, not only about what blockchain is, but more importantly what it can do for businesses and institutions."

Along these lines, in late December 2019, Concordium announced the formation of the Blockchain Academy Network, a collaboration between Concordium and academia to foster the use of blockchain within businesses.

Crypto crime persistsCipherTrace reported a significant reduction in cryptocurrency crime in the third quarter of 2019, good news "After two years of large, high-profile exchange hacks and exit scams." That said, "2019 still experienced a massive spate of crypto crimes - more than $4.4 billion to date," and a big jump from 2018.The security firm detailed several large exit scams and misappropriation of funds in 2019: Plus Token at $2.9 billion, QuadrigaCX at $192 million, and the Bitfinex misappropriation of $851 million.

Once these blockchain network projects achieve a certain scale, those watching will begin to see the power that has been created - "In the next three to five years it will be huge."