The Future of Bitcoin

Being the world’s first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin was met with a lot of skepticism at first. This was soon washed away once more and more investors started becoming intrigued by it and it began to appreciate in value. If you know anything about the history of Bitcoin, you’ll also know that it’s come with its fair share of trying times, too. This has seen it increase and decrease in value very swiftly at times due to various issues. Of course, while it’s important to be informed of how Bitcoin is operating and how successful it is right now, we also want to look ahead at its future. After all, if you’re intending to hold your Bitcoin for a few years, it should be good to have some insight into what could potentially happen with the cryptocurrency. So, join us as we have a look through where we believe Bitcoin will be in the future and how you and your Bitcoin will be affected.

It’s always difficult to see your chosen cryptocurrency sink in value, and anyone who has been involved with Bitcoin over the years will know how swiftly this can happen. However, towards the end of 2017, the cryptocurrency breached the $10,000 mark and continued in a positive movement. This was quite an odd (albeit exciting) turn of events and did bring up the question as to whether it will continue growing in value as the years proceed.

But is this something that can be expected for the future as well? Will it continue fluctuating in such dramatic ways? Will it steady itself and even out? Or will it suffer an instant decrease in value and become almost irrelevant?

For the time being, this remains as a strong divide between hardcore cryptocurrency fans and those who don’t have much faith in Bitcoin. The former of these are certain that Bitcoin, being the original cryptocurrency, should have total cryptocurrency market capitalization of hundreds and thousands of dollars. These people are certain that the future will see blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies completely cancel out and do away with standard fiat currencies. You’ll most likely see these people accumulating various cryptocurrencies, with a target of amassing large amounts of Bitcoin.

On the other hand, those who aren’t such avid supporters of it believe that Bitcoin is in quite the bubble, stating that there isn’t really any fundamental reason behind why the digital currency should continue on an incline. These people think that while Bitcoin is popular to attain right now, it will soon lose its appeal and subsequently its value, as more people begin to sell it in favor of something else.

Apart from these groups, a selection of people remains in the midst of these arguments for and against Bitcoin. Generally speaking, these people are open to and will potentially buy into the idea of cryptocurrencies but also aren’t really sure how a price or value can be assigned to such – especially in the long term. It’s possibly quite true to say that cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are here to stay for the future, although it’s quite possible that advances in technology will allow for something a lot more stable to make its way through.

Not only that, but it’s highly unlikely that banks, financial institutions, and governments would allow something to become so valuable that they don’t get a cut of such. This could potentially lead to government-backed cryptocurrencies becoming an entity in the future. With this being the case, something that is more centralized has the potential to be a lot more stable value-wise as well, leading to more faith in a cryptocurrency and potentially a downward spiral for Bitcoin.

One would think that after Bitcoin had such a highly appealing 2017, rising to such valuable heights, it would still be something that people should be clambering to purchase. For some people, it’s still considered a great investment. For others, not so much. Of course, nothing is guaranteed in the world of finance – and this relates to all kind of finance, not just cryptocurrencies.

Yet anyone who opts to invest in Bitcoin should be aware of how risky it can be. As we’ve mentioned before, it’s a very volatile digital currency, which is the biggest risk behind it. This isn’t just something that has become an issue recently, but something that has pestered Bitcoin pretty much throughout its 10-year existence.

Should the cryptocurrency move across into the mainstream world and be recognized as an international method of exchange, then it’s quite likely that its value would continue increasing, and fairly dramatically at that. However, such a scenario is – at least for the time being – not certain to happen.

Because banks and financial institutions aren’t really concerned over Bitcoin and other digital currencies, it doesn’t really pose a threat to the global economy for now. This does give it a bit more of a stable standing in the world, making it a fairly safe investment as far as value is concerned. Of course, if the value of Bitcoin does continue to increase and regulators see it as being a big threat, then a crackdown could ensue, hurting the value of Bitcoin in the process.

That being said, an increasing number of companies are accepting payments made in Bitcoin, both offline and online. So, it does hold a certain draw for investors, due to the potential for it to be usable worldwide in the future.

Of course, it’s always better to invest in something when the price is lower, and then, as the value of it increases, so too does your own investment in it. Therefore, if you are thinking about involving yourself in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency or even any other altcoins, perhaps now is still a good time to do it. Whether or not it will skyrocket and become a global phenomenon that can be used anywhere and everywhere is still unknown. The fact that there is the potential for such does provide quite an intense draw, though.

It’s not only the future that could have a negative impact on Bitcoin. The present also already comes with its fair share of problems. It does, unfortunately, have a reputation of being utilized by criminals, especially in the online world. Due to the fact that transactions with Bitcoin are anonymous and pretty much untraceable, this works very heavily in the favor of criminal activity.

Furthermore, the idea that the rapid rise in Bitcoin’s price at times could potentially be a bubble waiting to swiftly burst would definitely prove to be a negative outcome. Speculation has been made several times that the value of Bitcoin could increase up to $40,000, and there have even been comments made that it could ascend even beyond that. However, evidence from previous times that its price has heavily increased show that the cryptocurrency crashed and remained low for a considerable amount of time before bouncing back. Naturally, nobody wants to lose money, and if Bitcoin continues going through such harsh fluctuations, people will likely turn away from it.

Yet this could just still be a testing phase for the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Despite the fact that it’s now been available to purchase for about 10 years, some still see it as being the revolution for which the finance world has been waiting. It’s true to say that many world-changing technologies and systems have their issues and bubbles in early stages. Many have commented that what is happening right now with Bitcoin is actually very normal. Yet there isn’t any guarantee that it will become anything more than it is currently. The early-stage bubbles can’t be relied upon as being a precursor to world domination for Bitcoin.

Even though Bitcoin does have its fair share of negative issues, it’s still a very relative currency. Most of the world’s Bitcoin transactions as far as volume goes take place in China. Obviously, China is a huge manufacturing power these days, meaning that it remains relevant through trade and other such functions.

Perhaps one of the biggest issues that could affect Bitcoin in the future is the potential for other cryptocurrencies to become just as valuable or even more so than it. There are so many altcoins available now that people don’t need to search far for one to invest in. Those people who are loyal to Bitcoin do believe that this won’t happen, as Bitcoin remains as the original cryptocurrency. However, this argument is somewhat flawed in itself. Even though BTC payments are made, the vast majority of holders of the cryptocurrency store it in wallets to see its value appreciate. This leaves quite a gap for other digital currencies to simply step up and become of a similar status to Bitcoin.

If there’s one thing that can be said about Bitcoin with a high level of certainty, it’s that the price of it will remain somewhat volatile for the future. Time will tell how long this will remain as an issue for the cryptocurrency. However, there doesn’t seem to be any particular concern from regulatory institutions, so things don’t look to really change as far as the decentralization status of Bitcoin goes. Because of this, things will most likely continue on a fluctuating level, as far as the value of it is concerned.

The short answers to this is yes. In fact, there’s quite the likelihood that Bitcoin will appreciate even more and break the $20,000 and $30,000 barriers and potentially even higher. It didn’t take such a long period of time for it to go beyond $10,000, and towards the end of 2017, it was close to the $20,000 value. For the time being, Bitcoin is very capable of ascending beyond what it has already experienced.

To put it bluntly, the future of Bitcoin is not guaranteed one way or the other. It does come with its great advantages, but there are also some key disadvantages to bear in mind when thinking about purchasing the cryptocurrency. On one hand, it could be the best investment that you’ve ever made. Just make sure that you’re in the know of its status frequently so that you know how to act in times of potential huge dips.