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

Is bitcoin (BTC-USD) going to become a widely used medium of exchange? 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.