Cryptocurrency fans can rejoice. The number of active bitcoin users worldwide will spike to some 4.7 million by theend of 2019, up from just 1.3 million at the end of 2014, accordingto data recently released by Juniper Research.

However, the Hampshire, U.K., research firm said usage willcontinue to be dominated by exchange trading, with retail adoptionlargely restricted to relatively niche demographics.

Both data and opinion appeared in The Future ofCryptocurrency: Bitcoin & Altcoin Impact & Opportunities2015 – 2019, Juniper's study released March 17.

But while a number of high-profile retailers support bitcoin payments, activity levels from both online and offlineusages are extremely low, according research report author Dr.Windsor Holden.

“While average daily transaction volumes have increased byaround 50% since March 2014, the indications are that much of thisgrowth results from higher transaction levels by established usersrather than from any substantial uplift in consumer adoption,”Holden wrote in the study.

The report cited several factors it claimed would continue toinhibit growth, most notably the difficulty in communicating theconcept of cryptocurrency payments to consumers. It also argued thatbitcoin's historical association with – and continued use by –criminals for illegal purchases and money laundering would act as afurther deterrent to mass adoption.

The report noted that with many bitcoins being hoarded by earlyspeculators, currency supply could be further restricted, withbitcoin mining profitability threatened by a combination of thecryptocurrency's volatility, lower bitcoin yields and risingelectricity costs.

The introduction of licensed, regulated exchanges could lead tostabilization in currency values and, subsequently, an increase inbitcoin retail transaction adoption, the report said.