Posts for Bitcoin Category

Threats And Opportunities For Bitcoin

Bitcoin, Guide - Patrick - March 12, 2021

In 2013, Bitcoin made headlines for its colossal rise in value. Within six months, the cryptocurrency’s price rose from $100 to $1250, a massive 12.5 times increase in value. These days, Bitcoin is less volatile with the price stabilizing at the $400-$600 range. If you are still planning to invest, you should at least be aware of the threats and opportunities that the digital currency may face this year.

Threats for Bitcoin

In the world of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is still the king but other currencies are looking to take the crown. Virtual currencies like Nxt, Monero and Peercoin may not pose a threat as of yet but may give Bitcoin a run for its money in the future.

The tremendous price surge that investors saw in 2013 makes it almost impossible to fundamentally value Bitcoin. Without strong fundamentals, there is a huge possibility that the currency is already overbought and if that is the case, it may be due for a major correction.

Traders are in favor of the digital currency because the network is unregulated and they can even use Crypto Signal Group. Government crackdowns or any hint of intervention could send Bitcoin’s price spiraling down. This has already happened once, courtesy of the Chinese government which resulted to a huge price drop overnight. If it happened before, it can always happen again.

Currently, the currency is dominated by speculators and hardcore computer enthusiasts. The public has yet to be convinced of the cryptocurrency’s value.

Online thieves are lurking, waiting for the opportunity to strike. In June 2013, Allinvain suffered a massive bitcoin loss after hackers compromised the computers they were using. The robbery left Allinvain 25,000 bitcoins poorer which at the time of the hacking was valued at $500,000.

Opportunities for Bitcoin

Emerging markets like Turkey and India are feeling the sting as the US continues to taper its economic stimulus. Furthermore, the improvement of America’s economic outlook has prompted big money investors to come back home. If this trend continues, countries involved are vulnerable to inflation. Such a situation may come as good news to current bitcoin holders. When the rich citizens of those countries realize what is happening, they may opt to trade their currency to a currency that is not susceptible to inflation. By nature, Bitcoin is deflationary and that might just be enough to attract investors from emerging markets.

The launch of Bitcoin’s killer app will definitely engage the public and initiate the general adoption of the cryptocurrency. If more and more people become convinced of Bitcoin’s validity, it will put the exchange to a buying frenzy, and if this happens, the currency’s $1124.76 all time high can be easily surpassed.

The extreme volatile nature of bitcoin has kept many investors on the sideline. Currently, the price is stabilizing and if this is coupled with improvements in services and security, it will not be long until mainstream investors join the bandwagon and drive Bitcoin’s price up.

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Bitcoin Bites Or Does It How Scandals Are Impacting The Digital Disruptor

Bitcoin, Business, Finance, Guide, money - Patrick - December 16, 2020

Bitcoin has been both hailed as a revolution and scorned as a risky investment that enables criminal purchases. Alarmist Bitcoin-related headlines abound in the tech and popular media, including terms such as “crash,” “scandal,” “meltdown” and “implosion.” It would be natural to assume confidence, even amongst the most die-hard cryptocurrency fanatic is waning, but is it?

According to some, Bitcoin is struggling for legitimacy — beset with hacks and fraud scandals, an unclear regulatory picture, and wild fluctuations in valuation. Others hail it as a poster child of a new Internet empowered global community free from the shackles of the corrupt financial systems that brought on the global financial crisis.

Using that data by torque trading system, we surveyed a representative sample of 2,000 Americans to find out what’s really going on. We ran the survey three times over two months, during which we saw Mt Gox go bankrupt, Flexicoin get hacked, price crashes, DDoS attacks against Bitstamp, Apple taking down the world’s most popular Bitcoin wallet from its app store, and the arrest of the CEO of Bitcoin exchanger BitInstant on money laundering charges.

We really wanted to monitor the impact of these negative developments — are people turning their back on Bitcoins or has support remained strong? Is Bitcoin becoming a momentary hype-driven blip or a sustainable alternative? Does anyone actually care?

The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is yes to all of the above. Like any complex scenario, the truth lies beneath the headlines and in the nuances of the community. Bitcoin has come to represent several different things to different people. Although the one striking observation is attitudes have remained largely steady throughout the past two months.

Young Americans are the most bullish, and in fact, nearly one in three (30%) consider investing in (or mining) Bitcoins as safer than the more traditional stock market. This figure has remained steady throughout the period, despite the price of a Bitcoin falling from $970 to a low of $250, and now at $637. Despite the massive fluctuations in valuation, nearly half (42%) of young respondents to the survey also indicated they believe Bitcoin is a lasting currency.

This strong support contrasts with the attitudes of Americans aged over 35, with fewer than half (45%) actually knowing what a Bitcoin was and more than one in four (29%) believing Bitcoin to have no monetary value.

Across all respondents, 62% of respondents believe Bitcoin is a scam, while 15% of male respondents believe Bitcoin is used to fund terrorism. Interestingly, 23% of respondents would be convinced of the legitimacy of Bitcoin if it could be used to buy a Big Mac, while the majority are waiting for the establishment of a formal exchange and/or a statement from the Federal Reserve.

The biggest impact on attitudes appeared in the third survey, immediately after the collapse of Mt Gox. Although its impact was not widespread, the major change was a 13% growth in awareness among those 35 and older. There was also a slight growth (6%) in people thinking Bitcoin was a scam, only a minor reduction (3%) in the number of young Americans who thought Bitcoin was safer than the stock market, and a similar 5% dip in the number of people considering Bitcoin to be a lasting currency.

So, as always, America appears to be a combination of conservatism mixed with hope, a sense of adventure, and rebelliousness combined with a desire for an easy dollar. With great disruption comes great disparity of opinion.

The lesson I take from this is that curious minds must go beyond the headlines to find the realities. Whether you’re trying to understand attitudes towards Bitcoin or to understand your own customers’ attitudes to your product, avoid the simplistic convenient answers, and always dig deeper. The tools are at your disposal.

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