An anonymous developer Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin in 2009. Bitcoin is regarded as the first and original cryptocurrency. Ever since it was released, Bitcoin has been a huge success. From the past trends, you can rest assured that the future of Bitcoin can only get brighter.
Its future will significantly depend on the case in which it becomes regularly used. Currently, there are two use cases for Bitcoin; as a medium of exchange and as a store of value.
Bitcoin as a Store of Value
In its current form, Bitcoin is an excellent store of value. People’s insatiability and lack of understanding of what Bitcoin is and why it is unique are the reasons why Bitcoin is not acting like a store of value.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak suggested that Bitcoin is similar to gold. But, unlike gold, Bitcoin is not difficult to store, you can transport it easily, no one can take it from you forcefully, and its quantity is unknown.
You could be wondering how something invisible can be placed in the same league as gold. Let’s look at the value in the context of Bitcoin.
What is Value?
Human beings create value. When you consider precious stones like gold and diamond, you can only sell them as long as someone is willing to pay for them. If you went to an undeveloped jungle and tried to sell these precious stones, they wouldn’t buy from you.
These precious stones are only valuable because the global community has regarded them as expensive. If the global community decides that Bitcoin is better than gold, suddenly, Bitcoin will take gold’s place. The world seems to be appreciating this reality as more than $100 billion is stored in Bitcoin.
Bitcoin as a Medium Of Exchange
In some cases around the world, Bitcoin is already being used as a medium of exchange. The future of Bitcoin could see it becoming the primary medium of exchange. Regrettably, its current form is not suitable for use as a medium of exchange.
Bitcoin is a digital currency based on the blockchain technology. Its strengths are security and immunity to malicious attacks. Therefore, it has to sacrifice speed for safety. To achieve optimum security, the time between the creation of each block has to be longer. This makes the network robust and expensive to attack, but transactions will be slow to go through.
The Future of Bitcoin’s Price
Over the years, experts have made several predictions on the prices of Bitcoin. The projections are both negative and positive. The negative sentiments on Bitcoin have come from the world of traditional finance. Some of the notable critics are Warren Buffet and J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
They are probably not amused by the disruption the Bitcoin network has brought to the financial sector. It’s a case of turkeys voting against Christmas.
On the positive side of things, there are realistic predictions, optimistic predictions, and wild predictions. Some experts claim that Bitcoin will overcome its recent slump to reach an all-time high in 2020. Internet entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian believes that Bitcoin’s value will hit an all-time of $20,000 this year.
