2017 was undoubtedly revolutionary for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with tremendous growth and recognition, but even more interesting is what was happening behind the headlines that created momentum that brings crypto to a place that it is poised to transform the global economy.

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Specifically in America, Tom Benson – who is pioneering a new space in crypto with startup Pathfinder – looks at the major pieces that have fallen into place behind the scenes, and are ready to take off in the coming months.

Wall Street

Since the beginning, Wall Street has been resistant to the rise of bitcoin. Yet, in 2017 and now bleeding into 2018, traditional financial institutions and their executives have taken huge strides in not only being open to cryptocurrency and its underlying technology but have also taken steps to implement it. Examples include Goldman Sachs setting up a crypto trading desk and the launch of Bitcoin futures by both CME and Cboe.

The SEC

Much of 2017 was spent talking about the potential crackdown of the SEC – what if they completely shut down the US market? Nothing was more telling on this topic last year than the SEC’s statement on December 11th, which essentially stated that most tokens would meet the definition of a security and the new space could be helpful for the economy, though rules will need to be followed.

Adoption by more traditional companies

One doesn’t need to go further back than the announcement by Kodak, a century plus year old company, that they’d be launching an ICO later in January. The value and need to be at the forefront of technology is being recognised by many.

>See also: Cryptocurrency, a whole new mine field or a profitable new world?

The growth of digitalisation has hit the image industry hard. Around 85% of all images online are used without a valid license and digital image theft has become the norm. For that reason, a number of image rights portals have been fighting against online image theft for years.

With Kodak announcing a blockchain addition to their platform they’re following a trend of many other large companies who see a future in the space.

Crypto inevitability

Despite last night’s somewhat expected cryptomarket crash, 2018 is the year of crypto inevitability, suggests Benson. All the pieces of the puzzle are in place for this new wave to make serious inroads and unleash its power, for the better, on the US economy.