Can We Finally Say Cryptocurrency is Over?
I was intrigued, but I compared it to the trend in multiplayer games like World of Warcraft where people were gathering in-game coins in exchange for real money. It was only worth something while the game was popular.
I admit, I thought the idea was a bit ridiculous.
I could have bought Bitcoin at $100
When I first heard about Bitcoin in June 2013, the price was around $100 per coin.
That’s right, if I bought 10 bitcoins for $1,000 at the time and sold at their peak of $19,783 per coin in December, 2017. I would have now nearly $200,000.
Do I regret my decision? No
I regret nothing and still continue to hold zero coins of any kind. Would it be nice to have $200,000, absolutely, but assuming the entire world would accept a new currency is silly. Here’s why.
Why I never believed in Cryptocurrency
Nothings Hack Proof
Bitcoin which uses Blockchain to create an incredibly long receipt of user transactions. The longer the blockchain receipt, the harder it is to hack because it needs an extraordinary amount of processing power. So Bitcoin uses the longest receipt to verify who has how much Bitcoins because it’s assumed impossible to hack.
Well that’s not the only way to hack Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. In June 2018 the cryptocurrency exchange company Coinrail was hacked. The hackers stole 30% of the exchanges total cryptocurrency, or $35 million US dollars (source). Plus once that money is gone, it’s gone and nearly impossible to track unlike bank records. Oh, and it’s not insured by any goverment agency.
It’s not an isolated case. Japan’s Coincheck was hacked resulting in a crypto loss, South Korean Youbit was hacked twice requiring bankruptcy and others continue to be hacked (source). With no physical footprint, your money is just gone if hacked.
Let’s face it, we live in a hack-happy world. Each time an Exchange gets hacked (happens more than you think), the price of Cryptocurrencies lose major value. Yikes.
It skyrocketed due to media attention, now that’s gone
Bitcoin has literally zero real value. It’s only worth what we say it is.
That being said, in 2017 where it had one of its largest rises in price, Bitcoin thrived on all the media attention and the FOMO “Fear Of Missing Out”. Bitcoin has a finite supply of coins and everyone wanted one as the price rose.
However, that FOMO is gone and media attention has staggered. With the lack of these 2 qualities, Bitcoin’s price has tumbled from its $19,783 high to its current price of $6,363. It’s maintained a fluctuation of $8,000 – $6,000 through most of 2018.
Since Bitcoin is unregulated, no other influences will really affect the price. There may be a few spikes, but no quarterly reports or conference calls like a company or government agency, since it’s unregulated, will help the currency get anywhere back up as it used to be.
Bitcoin isn’t special, now a dime a dozen
The idea of Bitcoin was to be a central currency for everyone to use. However now there are well over 1,658 cryptocurrencies in existence (source). So 1,658 cryptocurrencies grabbing for our attention. Anything special about Bitcoin is now lost in a sea of other coins fighting for dominance and frankly, none of them are winning. It’s safer and easier to give up and forget about crypto.
Conclusion
Reports continue to come in of Bitcoin hacking, and the media attention & FOMO are gone while 1,658 other cryptocurrencies exist. Everything that made Bitcoin special is gone.
It’s over. If you’re holding out hope that your Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies will make a dramatic comeback. It’s my opinion you’re wrong.
Wallet Squirrel is a personal finance blog by best friends Andrew & Adam on how money works, building side-hustles, and the benefits of cleverly investing the profits. Featured on MSN Money, AOL Finance, and more!
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!