20-Feb-2018
Thinking aloud again and could be totally wrong about this. Common sense, however, tells us that in order to create and build on something like a currency, you need a solid foundation.
Bitcoin is here to stay. Every day, financial institutions, celebrities, and artists are endorsing it. It also has intrinsic value otherwise companies (incl. Microsoft) accepting it as payment for goods and services are either ballsy or just plain stupid!
More and more of these institutions are accepting and legitimizing it.
With the news that Polish authorities funded anti-crypto campaigns coming to light, it is evident there is a noticeable fear of its potential to put an end to bank monopolies.
And as much as monetary authorities make it sound as though they are out to protect your interests, this is probably unlikely the genuine cause of their concerns.
Ethereum founder, Vitalik Buterin, played the safe card by recently warning that Cryptocurrencies can drop to a zero value and must not be used as an investment vehicle. And rightfully so!
Practical uses
Contrary to popular belief that they are just worthless, each Crypto has a distinguishing function rather than a being a commodity on an exchange.
Bitcoin is currently too volatile and way too expensive to be used as a global legal tendency.
It may still, however, be broken down into increments and used to make small online purchases.
And of course traded against other cryptocurrencies such as one called Ripple (which is bank-backed and likely to become widely accepted).
In the world of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin would then be the standard – like gold.
Bitcoin can, therefore, be considered as the grandfather of cryptos. It’s the base of all cryptos rather than one that will be made readily available as standard payment instruments.
Its ‘base’ and ‘foundation-like’ presence is felt by the gravitational pull (dominance) and influence it has on the movements of most other altcoins on the blockchain.
The future
Bitcoin will probably have another rampant rally and then settle eventually at a price just around or under $5000.
It will nevertheless eventually settle at a price that would make it stable enough to be considered a standard when all the 21 million of it has been mined.
This was probably the vision that ‘Satoshi‘ had: to create it and own most it as with the institutions that hold gold reserves.
The blockchain technology will improve and is already doing so exponentially. Many of the other Altcoins are already offering quicker money transfer capability. This will render Bitcoin even more redundant in its purpose of offering quick transactions unless it undergoes a rampant upgrade.
Bitcoin will, however, still remain a tradable commodity – like gold, an old painting or collectible antique.