Bitcoin's use as currency may just be getting started, Morgan Stanley says

Its lack of acceptance as a means of payment among merchants, as well as its high transaction costs, is now changing, Morgan Stanley analyst Sheena Shah wrote in a note to clients Thursday.

Room to grow? The global crypto market cap recently stood at $ 1.87T, which may sound large, but not when compared with more established asset classes like global equities ($ $ 90T), bonds ($ $ 120T), and Gold (XAUUSD: CUR) ( $ 12T), according to 2021 figures.

A slew of payment companies, in particular, are looking to expand their reach in the growing decentralized space. For example, payments firm Strike recently teamed up with point-of-sale supplier NCR (NCR) and rewards-based payments firm Blackhawk Network, which could mean that a large number of physical stores, restaurants and cafes in the US will be able to accept bitcoin payments in the near future, Shah explained.