Yet, despite all the countless articles that detail the schematics of the Bitcoin system, it remains mired in controversy, especially of late as it makes the news on a regular basis for its volatility
Let’s take a look at some of the myths surrounding Bitcoin, and attempt to disentangle this nascent cryptocurrency from the confusion that surrounds it
Bitcoin is a dead cat bouncing The financial world sure knows how to conjure up the right visual image for failing projects
The first time I bought Bitcoin was back in September 2017, right after the Chinese government banned it and caused massive exchange fallout
The price was plummeting, everyone was chanting “bubble”, and it seemed doomed to fail
Back then, and this was just four months ago, it was priced at roughly $3,500, and falling
Since then, Bitcoin has seen extreme price fluctuations in a short period of time: October 30, 2017: $5,885 November 30: Increased to $10,624 December 9: Increased to $16,360 December 11: Fell to $14,594 December 13: Increased to $17,142 December 15: Fell to $16,547 December 17: Increased to $19,783 December 18: Fell to $19,498 December 23: Fell to $13,883 December 24: Increased to $14,831 December 25: Fell to $13,709 December 28: Increased to $16,064 December 31: Fell to $13,378 January 4: Increased to $15,177 January 7: Increased to $17,163 January 12: Fell to $13,869 January 14: Increased to $14,358 January 17: Fell to $9,807 January 18: Increased to $10,685 As of now, a Bitcoin is worth over $10,000, significantly down from the record high of $19,783 set on December 17th
Nonethless, I have still made a profit
I have trouble reconciling with the profit margin I’ve managed; in fact, I still do not believe it – “Magic Internet Money” really worked! The volatility shows that if anything, there is a pattern
So perhaps ‘the dead cat rises’? More Batman puns to follow… [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] ‘Magic Internet Money Wizard’ ad for Bitcoin
Photo: Mavensbot/ Reddit[/caption] It’s not worth the risk So what made me invest in this cryptocurrency? Was it pure madness on my part to dump money in a project failing at the time? Yes, partly, but the principles that Bitcoin posits convinced me to invest
A ‘decentralised, trust-less, distributed consensus’ system for currency is unheard of in my time, and it is alarmingly different than the banking system I’ve known since day one
The fact that I can transfer money from my computer to anywhere in the world with reasonable anonymity, almost the same as handing money in person, is staggering
The transaction fee is miniscule compared to banking transactions, and the value of Bitcoin itself has yet to ‘inflate’
Is it risky to invest in a fledgling currency system? Probably, but Bitcoin has a lot to offer that hasn’t been even considered yet
The financial systems merely adopted the darkness – Bitcoin was born in it
(There will be no more Batman puns in the rest of this article; it’s just not working out!) The volatility of Bitcoin presents a problem though, especially for people not used to such sharp spikes in pricing
Recently, over a period of two weeks, the price fluctuated from $16,563 to $19,500, then plummeted below $11,000
While Christmas shopping (done in dollars) was largely discussed as a probable cause, this might not be so convincing for people, especially those new to the cryptocurrency life
After all, there’s a reason why the rollercoaster guy is so popular among Bitcoin users – it’s constantly going up or down
Bitcoin is a Ponzi scheme, and you’ll be left holding the bag There are numerous banking CEOs across the economic realm that have denounced Bitcoin as a “Ponzi scheme” and regarded it as a momentary blip
But shouldn’t such headlines, along with the ramping increase in Bitcoin’s price, make people wonder what is happening, and discover the cryptocurrency for themselves? This avalanche of social media content barring Bitcoin almost feels like a conspiracy in itself
Surely, the mighty banks wouldn’t care about an online project so much that they would have notable economic figures call for it to be ‘outlawed’? The CEO of Goldman Sachs declared Bitcoin to be a “bubble” that he is “uncomfortable” with, while another called it a “fraud” (though he has since claimed he regrets it)
How can it be a bubble? Bitcoin’s intrinsic value is untapped, and the current market value, with its mercurial trend, cannot be used as a marker alone
The currency and its principles are new and unprecedented; it cannot be classified as a speculative mania
I fail to understand why Bitcoin hasn’t caught on more rapidly
Online ventures are prone to high risk, and investing in age-old assets like land or stocks would be more viable, but isn’t it strange that the entire banking system is unanimously against cryptocurrency? The golden rule of Bitcoin is to only invest what you can afford to lose
Perhaps that’s why the banks hate it so much – such honesty would make any banker cringe
It’s a Jewish conspiracy! As far as I understood it, Bitcoin made complete sense
And it also made sense that my friends, especially the ones whom I consider smarter than myself, would have invested in it as well
However, except for one close friend, nobody believes it to be true
My parents dismissed it as a, “Jewish conspiracy that revolves around greedily collecting limited edition coins
” How do I debunk a Jewish conspiracy allegation? The speculation around Bitcoin truly is mind-boggling
Crypto-what? It’s useless! To put a long story very, very short, you cannot buy groceries with Bitcoin
You cannot buy anything with it in Pakistan – for now
But that doesn’t make the currency useless
As soon as more merchants (large-scale retailers) begin to accept Bitcoin as a currency for trade, it will catch fire
There are Bitcoin ATMs rapidly sprouting up in numerous locations, but they’re all in the West
Japan is rushing to accept Bitcoin as a major currency, and considers it to be a universal currency; it even has companies offering it as salary
The reason why Bitcoin is so valuable is not because of its value in Dollars or Rupees; it’s because of the principles of the project
You own Bitcoin
With other currencies, you will always deal with the banking system; with Bitcoin, it’s just you
Yes, you need to buy them from an exchange, but that’s it
You own Bitcoin, and you can do whatever you want with it
I believe you owe it to yourself, and to your future generations, to at least read up on what Bitcoin is potentially offering as a currency
Yes, it might fail at any time; yes, its price value is highly volatile, and yes, you cannot buy groceries with it in Pakistan! However, the principles it is offering are a thing of the future, and in my opinion, a revolution against the banking system of today
Give Bitcoin five minutes of your time – you will not regret it!
| Date: | 19-Jan-2018 | Reference: | View Original Link |
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