What Does The Future Hold For Bitcoin (BTC)s? – William Gaithersworth
Although this revolutionary new currency seems to be taking the world by storm. The thing is however, most people have heard of Bitcoin (BTC)s, but many people may not even realize what they are. If you ask someone, “What are Bitcoin (BTC)s?” they will say that it is some sort of new digital currency.
That being said, if you ask them how you get Bitcoin (BTC)s, people will generally have no idea.
This is what makes the future of Bitcoin (BTC)s such a question mark. While it has the ability to be revolutionary, there is the issue that most people have only a basic and very vague understanding of what Bitcoin (BTC)s are.
So, what does the future hold for Bitcoin (BTC)s? To answer that, we are going to look at a variety of issues related to Bitcoin (BTC)s, including their legal status and how adopted they are at this current point.
Legal Status of Bitcoin (BTC)s
One of the main issues with Bitcoin (BTC)s right now is that they have been linked heavily with online criminal behaviour, especially on Silk Road and its successor Silk Road.
Due to the nature of Bitcoin (BTC)s, criminals will use them to purchase items on web black markets. Criminal activity related to Bitcoin (BTC)s tends to centre around the theft of Bitcoin (BTC)s and scams. In terms of the legal status of Bitcoin (BTC)s in countries around the world, many countries have taken varied approaches.
•Australia has been receptive to Bitcoin, allowing companies to trade in Bitcoin (BTC)s. In addition, there is no law against buying or mining Bitcoin (BTC)s. There are tax guidelines related to Bitcoin (BTC)s in Australia as well.
Belgium has publicly stated they have no problem with the currency and that the national bank has no problems with it. There are no guidelines concerning Bitcoin (BTC)s in Belgium.
In Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency has tax guidelines in place for Bitcoin (BTC)s.
•In China, the China Central Bank has barred banks from dealing in Bitcoin (BTC)s and it is going to be regulating Bitcoin (BTC)s in the future.
•In the European Union, there has only been a warning that Bitcoin (BTC)s lack any sort of consumer protection.
•Germany has stated that Bitcoin (BTC)s are a unit of account and can be used for taxes and trading.
•In Iceland, Bitcoin use is illegal due to strong laws concerning their own currency.
•Israel will be putting a tax on Bitcoin (BTC)s but this has not been done yet.
•Russia has outlawed the use of Bitcoin (BTC)s.
The United Kingdom is looking at regulating Bitcoin (BTC)s.
In the United States, Bitcoin use is legal and Bitcoin (BTC)s are seen as a legal means of exchange.
The majority of countries on Earth, including all of Central America, all of South America (except Brazil), all of Brazil and most of the Middle East and Europe, along with Australia and New Zealand, have no laws concerning Bitcoin (BTC)s.
Bitcoins are legal in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, and several other northern European countries, as well as Brazil, Canada, and the United States.
Bitcoin use is illegal in Russia, Iceland, and Thailand.
Flash in the Pan?
Bitcoins emerged a few years ago, but it was really in 2013 when they took off. At the beginning of 2013, Bitcoin (BTC)s were worth about $13 each. By the end, the price had risen to $900, and even hit $1,200 earlier in the year.
While this lends legitimacy to Bitcoin (BTC)s, it also causes a problem. High volatility is an example of an unstable currency.
In the space of one week, it was possible for the value of Bitcoin (BTC)s to fluctuate by hundreds of dollars. Many economists feel that Bitcoin (BTC)s are nothing more than a fad that will eventually fade.
There are several reasons for this including:
It is unknown whether or not businesses will respond to Bitcoin (BTC)s and allow people to pay for things with nothing but a smartphone app. Many laws and payment methods are outdated and were made when people used cash and cheques mostly.
Change often comes slow, and many people may not trust using electronic money rather than money they can hold in their hands. While there are huge benefits to using electronic money, most consumers will resist giving up the convenience of cash transactions.
The Bitcoin market is currently worth $1 billion, worldwide currency is worth $4 trillion. Bitcoin (BTC)s have a very long way to go before they are heavily adopted worldwide.
The other issue with Bitcoin (BTC)s is that most people don’t quite understand how they work, how you get Bitcoin (BTC)s or truly what they are.
You need special software and good computers in order to mine Bitcoin (BTC)s, and you need to have a virtual wallet to keep Bitcoin (BTC)s. Most people will not pursue Bitcoin (BTC)s as a result of them being too complicated.
Essentials You Should Know About Bitcoin Mining
Mining in the real world results in resources coming from the ground and being used to make items, buy items and more…medium.com
•When Bitcoin (BTC)s were only $10 per Bitcoin, it was easy for people to buy into the market. Now, with Bitcoin (BTC)s upwards of $1,000 only a few people will be willing to pay that kind of money for a virtual currency.
•It is estimated that only about 40 people control the majority of the Bitcoin market. This is not something you would see in a legitimate currency, which is how some may see it.
There are investors out there who are trying to make money on a short sell of Bitcoin (BTC)s. Effectively, they are hoping to make money off the price of Bitcoin (BTC)s collapsing. This is a trend you see when a currency or stock is not doing well or in danger of being a bubble.
•Anytime something shoots up immensely in value in the space of one year, as Bitcoin (BTC)s have done, there is an extreme danger of the bubble bursting. This has been seen many times in the past, including with the real estate market in 2008, and with the Dot-Com Bubble in 2000.
•With no centralized governing authority, there is a worry of how an unregulated currency could progress in the future. Regulation helps to keep a commodity or currency from running out of control.
There can only be a finite amount of Bitcoin (BTC)s ever mined due to the algorithm that is used to mine Bitcoin (BTC)s. Currently, there are 11.5 million Bitcoin (BTC)s on the market, with 25 being added every 10 minutes. That number will slow soon when the reward for mining goes down to 12.5 and is halved every four years after.
The maximum amount of Bitcoin (BTC)s there can ever be is 21 million, and that number won’t be reached until sometime in the 22nd century. It is not possible for a currency to exist on Earth with only 21 million units of currency, especially when there are seven billion people on the planet.
Bitcoins: The Future?
It should be noted that while Bitcoin (BTC)s may be a flash in the pan, they could just be the first of many e-currencies that emerge in the future to alter our society and how we purchase goods and services.
There is a great deal to consider in that regard for Bitcoin (BTC)s, in one form or another, being the future of currency. Currency has always been changing. In 700 BC, the Lydians created the first metal currency on Earth.
Around 1200 AD, the Chinese introduced paper money to keep horses from being weighed down by huge amounts of coins. In 1821, the Bank of England introduced the gold standard with the rest of the world doing the same. In 1871, the United States introduced the money transfer.
After the gold standard was derailed after the First World War, currency was no longer linked with it. In 1950, the credit card was introduced and by 1995, 90 per cent of all the transactions in the United States were digital. Change always comes, whether we want it to or not.
While it is seen as something that could make Bitcoin (BTC)s a flash in the pan, the finite amount of Bitcoin (BTC)s also prevents the market from being completely devalued by an influx of coins. If millions of coins were being mined every day, it would result in the Bitcoin being worthless.
With only 21 million ever being mined, the value should begin to stabilize. Many like Bitcoin (BTC)s because unlike a money transfer in which there is a transfer fee, there is no transfer fee with Bitcoin (BTC)s and the transfer happens immediately.
While some feel that the ability to hide who is handling the money is a bad thing, others see it is as a good thing and can make transactions much easier and less pricy.
As with anything new, there is an adjustment period and even if the market falls, there is nothing saying that it can’t rise back up again. All information related to the Bitcoin is encrypted so money cannot be stolen without the proper digital key. This makes it much safer to use Bitcoin than other forms of currency.
Will Bitcoin (BTC)s Stabilize?
When the media began covering Bitcoin (BTC)s in April 2011, the price per Bitcoin was 75 cents. In June of that same year, the price had increased to $30 per Bitcoin.
The price then fell down to $2 per Bitcoin in November of 2011, and rose again to $5 per Bitcoin in early 2012. From January 2012 to February 2012, the price rose from about $3.50 to $7.20 per Bitcoin, before falling again in March and May.
Later in 2012, the price rose rapidly to $15.40 in August, fell down to $7.58 and then went back up to $13.50 in December. In 2013, the pattern repeated itself again, going from $13.50 to $266 then down to $50 at the pace of one month.
By summer, the price had risen back to $130. The price then rose from $130 to $1,242 later in 2013, fell down to $455 and then jumped back up to where it is now, $900.
This shows that there is a pattern to Bitcoin (BTC)s rising and falling:
When Bitcoin (BTC)s get a lot of press, new Bitcoin users buy Bitcoin (BTC)s, which generates higher prices, which creates more coverage in the media, which brings in new users.
•The Bitcoin Bubble bursts slightly and this is usually caused by some sort of bad news in the media. Those who just got into the Bitcoin market then leave it in a panic, which causes a loop because falling prices cause selling, which pushes the price even farther down.
•At this point, all those who panicked have left the market, and with a few bumps along the road, the price again begins to move back up. Each rise and fall, it is important to note, is actually smaller than the one that preceded it.
•The Bitcoin market stabilizes and the people who own Bitcoin (BTC)s are the people who want to hold onto them for a longer period. With no big price changes for the media to latch onto, for good or bad, the currency’s price attention begins to fall and the Bitcoin prices stabilize in time for another boom.
The cycle repeats itself.
With each price bump, rise and fall, the bottom price of Bitcoin (BTC)s is higher. In 2011, the bottom price was 75 cents, in 2012 it was $3.50 and in 2013 it was $13.50. Each bit of publicity boosts the Bitcoin market, which causes this cycle but each time, everything stabilizes more and more.
What this shows is that the Bitcoin market can stabilize as time goes on. Eventually, the press coverage will decrease as Bitcoin (BTC)s go from being “the next big thing” to “a regular currency people use”. When that happens, the prices will stabilize and the people who want to be in the market will be staying in the market.
Of course, there is no guarantee of any of that and things could change in the future. There is really no way of knowing what will happen with Bitcoin (BTC)s in the coming years. Only time will tell.
Published at Sat, 08 Feb 2020 06:55:37 +0000
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