The poster child of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, has been a hot topic for discussion in boardrooms, government meetings, and even dinner tables over the past few months. No doubt, its wild bull-runs, and stomach-churning declines have made it the center of attention as the world continues to fall apart due to the pandemic.
Bitcoin flirted with all-time highs earlier this month when its value surged to over $60,000 per coin. Although this was soon followed by a dramatic dip in price, the hype for the cryptocurrency has not died down. In fact, what was once viewed as an obsession for computer geeks and libertarians is now making huge steps towards mainstream acceptance.
The journey of Bitcoin has been nothing less than impressive as its price has managed to grow 11-fold this year alone. With rocky beginnings, the digital asset has finally been successful in making its way to the limelight. While the future remains uncertain for Bitcoin, one thing is certain: it is here to stay.
Growing pains
With its inception in 2009, Bitcoin’s foundation was laid by the mysterious creator under the pseudonym, Satoshi Nakamoto. However, the digital asset that was to take the world by storm less than a decade later, had quite the humble beginnings with its value worth only a couple of cents starting out. It was indeed the first virtual currency that laid the grounds for a myriad of cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin has an extremely volatile nature which has become apparent over the last few years. And while it has landed the digital asset quite the unnerving headlines over the year, it is also a prime reason for its undying popularity.
Bitcoin’s price gradually made its way up the ladder until 2017, when the digital asset soared in value from just about $1,000 to a staggering $20,000 within the span of only 12 months. This had many skeptics and potential investors intrigued, wanting to try out their luck with this new virtual currency that was blowing up.
Unfortunately, this hype soon came to a devastating end when the cryptocurrency plummeted to jaw-droppingly low values mid-2018. Those optimistic supporters that bet a great deal in hopes of becoming early millionaires soon found themselves under debt.
At the time, a number of mainstream investors and financial experts deemed cryptocurrency as a dangerous instrument used primarily for illegal activities as well as unethical practices by criminals and swindlers all over the world. They warned that anyone that allowed themselves to be swept away in the waves of the crypto world would soon find themselves in deep water.
However, the tune of Wall Street seems to have changed since then, especially over the last year. A growing number of hedge fund managers and institutional investors are seen buying in as the cryptocurrency continues to gain traction in the financial world and otherwise. Today, greater than 18 million bitcoins have been successfully mined with the number growing rapidly.
After dizzying gyrations over the past months, the value of Bitcoin is currently at $58,746 with a market cap of over $1 trillion.
The ever-growing hype
With the worldwide economy in ruins following the Covid-19 pandemic, the value of almost all assets was observed to take a dip. However, despite the economic crisis, Bitcoin was surging gradually moving to all-time highs. It was then that the world opened its eyes to the true potential that Bitcoin stored within, especially as being an alternative to traditional fiat currencies.
Perhaps one of the major reasons for this cryptocurrency’s meteoric rise has been the fact that it does not conform to the rules of inflation. As its design only allows a maximum of 21 million coins in existence, Bitcoin is able to retain its value despite the economic turmoil as its value is purely demand-driven.
Another contributing factor to the Bitcoin hype has been the rising involvement of institutional investors like Tesla, Square, PayPal, MasterCard, etc which has helped the cryptocurrency in gaining mainstream acceptance. This has made it much easier for bitcoin to be accepted as a means of payment.
Bitcoin is also widely taken up for investment purposes and the ease in investment and profit-making opportunities have definitely helped the digital asset become more prevalent. The availability of trading bots, such as bitcoinmastery, has emerged as a safe haven for many novice investors. With the use of powerful technologies and algorithms, seasoned as well as beginners can make profits on the regular without even having to get involved.
Moreover, the decentralized nature, easy accessibility as well as growing support by a number of once disbelievers have helped Bitcoin thrive in the financial community. Hence, all of these individual factors altogether have aided the journey of Bitcoin’s success and analysts claim it is only the beginning for the cryptocurrency.
Story by Arooba Masood
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