Digital currency Bitcoin, notorious for its erratic price movements, has significantly recovered in 2020 after suffering a dramatic decline in value in 2018. But as the value of Bitcoin increases, it appears to have generated a parallel discussion between those who are bullish on Bitcoin and those who are bearish on Bitcoin. Bears point out how volatile the digital coin has been, while bulls expect Bitcoin to become a good asset in the future.
Bitcoin is Volatile
Bitcoin, which is notorious for its volatility, has made a significant recovery in 2020 after suffering a dramatic decline in value. The value of the digital currency has increased since the middle of March of the previous year.
Because of Bitcoin’s ever-increasing popularity, using it is laborious, time-consuming, and costly. Most bitcoin transactions need around ten minutes to be validated, and the transaction cost has been hovering around twenty dollars for much of this year. Because of Bitcoin’s volatile value, it is currently not practical to use as a medium of trade.
In addition, it has become abundantly evident that Bitcoin does not provide complete anonymity. Concerns have been raised regarding the privacy and anonymity of Bitcoin transactions as a result of the government’s success in tracing and retrieving a portion of the Bitcoin ransom that was paid to the hacking collective DarkSide in response to the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack.
Even though Bitcoin has not been successful in achieving its goals, it has become a highly speculative investment. This presents a problem. It does not have any worth of its own and is not supported by anything. Bitcoin believers will tell you that, similar to gold, the currency’s worth stems from the fact that there are only so many of them. However, scarcity cannot in and of itself serve as a source of value. It would appear that Bitcoin investors are banking on the bigger fool principle, which states that all that is required to benefit from an investment is to find someone prepared to buy the item at an even higher price.
Recognition throughout the epidemic
The notoriety of Bitcoin, which was dealt a significant blow in 2018 and remained dormant for most of 2019’s duration, started rapidly picking up speed in 2020, also known as the year of the “Great Lockdown” by the International Monetary Fund.
The Covid-19 epidemic wreaked havoc on economies worldwide, and its spread compelled governments on every continent to institute stringent lockdowns throughout the year. All types of traditional investments and assets received significant damage as a direct result of the impact of the succeeding elements, which also had a disastrous effect on the global economy.
Even if their paper valuations are rather high, a fall in the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is not anticipated to cause significant tremors in the global financial system. The majority of banks have chosen not to participate in this crisis.
When it comes to any speculative bubble, the investors most in danger of incurring losses are inexperienced and joining the party late. The government should alert retail investors that, just as in the GameStop affair, they act in their danger. Securities that enable speculating on Bitcoin prices are already regulated, but the government can’t or shouldn’t do much more at this point.
Bitcoin is Harmless
Bitcoin is not a harmless cryptocurrency. “Miners” are individuals or businesses that process transactions using huge quantities of computer power in exchange for incentives in the form of bitcoin. This is in addition to the mountains of electronic garbage produced by the specialized equipment needed for such mining activities, which burn out quite quickly. Bit Alpha is a trading platform that is used by many famous traders these days.
Bitcoin’s blockchain technology is revolutionary and ground-breaking regardless of its ultimate fate. Bitcoin proved that computer programs running on systems might be used to safely process cross-border financial transactions without the need for overpriced intermediaries like banks. These tools will allow you to cut out the intermediaries and their high transaction costs.
Such costs are a significant obstacle for many people, including migrant workers trying to transfer money back to their home countries. Consumers and businesses stand to gain from introducing payment technologies that are less expensive, more efficient, and simpler to monitor.
Technology does not come without inherent dangers. Facebook plans to launch its cryptocurrency, known as Diem, to simplify the process of making digital payments. In contrast to Bitcoin, Diem would have its value guaranteed by being entirely backed by reserves of either United States dollars or other significant currencies. However, similar to Facebook’s previous projects that seem to have noble intentions, it isn’t easy to believe that the company would put the interests of the general public before those themselves.
These currencies won’t be a danger to the U.S. dollar, but they might be catastrophic for the currencies of nations with a lower standard of living and less economic development. It is quite unsettling to contemplate the possibility that global businesses may one day issue their unbacked cryptocurrency worldwide
Financial Literacy
Ironically, some of these advances may worsen inequality rather than make finance more accessible to more people. In a society where financial literacy and access to digital technologies are not equally distributed, it is possible that wealthy investors could reap the benefits of new technology while those with less wealth will be dazzled by them and take on risks they do not fully understand. In credit rating and making financial judgments, computer algorithms may exacerbate prejudices based on race and other factors. The widespread use of digital payment methods may result in losing any lingering semblance of personal privacy in our day-to-day lives.
Conclusion
The revolution in money and finance that Bitcoin has sparked will, in the end, have an effect on every one of us, whether for the better or, the worse. While the roller coaster price of Bitcoin gets a lot of attention, the revolution it has sparked is of far more relevance.