In the last ten years since its inception, the Bitcoin surge has shocked other traditional markets in an unprecedented move. Can we still expect a move like that over the next ten years?
Even though Bitcoin has been in a bit of a struggle recently it is still not just the biggest asset in the cryptocurrency market, but the best performing asset in the world, across all markets. The first fully decentralized digital asset began its journey in 2009 and is now slowly but surely disrupting the current traditional financial status quo.
In its early days, Bitcoin did not catch much attention and even people who heard about it quickly wrote it off either as a scam or as something that was bound to fail. Furthermore, the decentralized and immutable nature of Bitcoin and blockchain technology by extension did nothing to help allay fears that it could easily be exploited by criminals who needed a largely unrestricted and untraceable way to channel dirty funds. However, as time went on, people slowly started to catch on.
On the 22nd of May – when Bitcoin was less than $0.01, Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC in Florida, to buy two boxes of pizza. This event is credited as a major turnaround for two reasons, Firstly, it was the first time Bitcoin was used in a mainstream transaction. Secondly, it sparked up the Bitcoin conversation about its possible usage and about 2 months after, Bitcoin surged 1000% from $0.0008 to $0.08 within five days.
However, popular author Saifedean Ammous has described a 2009 Bitcoin transaction, and used it to paint Bitcoin’s growth trajectory in ten years. According to Ammous 5,050 BTC were sold for $5.02 in Oct 2009. Ammous notes that today, the same amount will be $42,171,792, calling it an increase of more than 838 million percent.
While that might be an exaggeration, the truth remains that Bitcoin’s price surge over the years has been a little too amazing to ignore.
Is Bitcoin Still King?
To a large extent, an easy answer to that is a resounding “yes”. However, there might be an alternative explanation to answer in the negative. According to an Indexica report as shared by Bloomberg, Bitcoin’s current woes might not be a Bitcoin problem in and of itself. However, it is a direct result of increased competition within the crypto market. Indexica believes that the Bitcoin fall is most likely a result of the development of many more blockchain networks and digital currencies, some of which may have already proven to be a lot more efficient and scalable that the Bitcoin network.
As different as this is, competition is mostly encouraged in global markets as its one of the more sure ways to ensure proper growth and development. However, with numerous blockchains and assets consistently springing up, the chance that Bitcoin can run like it has in the last ten years, is considerably low.
At the moment, Bitcoin is trading just a little over $8,300, where a support level was recently set. In the last few days, Bitcoin has been unable to sustain any of the price increases it experienced and analysts don’t see any hope in the near future. However, if Bitcoin fails to maintain $8,300, a further drop down to $7,000 should probably be expected.
