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We 'need" Bitcoin like we needed planes, cell-phones, Tesla cars etc.
December 2017
For those of you wondering why there hasn't been an article for the month of November, the reason is that each time I tried to put pen to paper, what I was going to note down had already been made obsolete by actuality. Bitcoin events are unfolding at an incredible pace these days. Clearly, we've progressed to the phase where the ecosystem is expanding at an exponential rate.
This applies to general awareness amongst the public at large, as well as publications in the media. And of course Bitcoin's value.
With Bitcoin's surging price, the sheer numbers of naysayers have also grown. In fact, analysts are falling over themselves to warn the world of the bubble that is Bitcoin.
It's interesting, when Bitcoin was still insignificant, most people would dismiss it as just that, insignificant. But now that Bitcoin has exploded into the mainstream, these same sceptics still dismiss Bitcoin but have changed their narrative from
insignificant to too
significant. After all, that's what a bubble is, too much money pouring in.
As this band of disbelieving brothers swells in ranks, each one of them feels more and more authenticated in their stance by the support of their countless allies.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Bitcoin continues to gather momentum, continues to conquer mind space and, continues to rise in legitimacy.
Now, it's always a good thing to question. Some second-guessing is never wrong outright. As a matter of fact, let's face it, at least some of Bitcoin's current value is more than likely speculators' froth. Let's not mince words, the price of Bitcoin now, in all probability, has a fair amount of bubble component.
Be that as it may, it's safe to say that, regardless of that froth component, as we speak, Bitcoin's promise is being recognized by more and more people, all of whom potential users of the currency, who have seen the light and who fully intend to hold Bitcoin for the safe-have store of value that it is. And maybe the game-changer universal currency that it may at some stage become.
I seems futile to fight this trend, especially when you listen to some of the arguments put forward against Bitcoin by the talking heads on tv.
One argument they keep parroting is how poor Bitcoin's currency utility is. Typically, they'll then follow that up with how they tried paying for something using Bitcoin, which didn't go without a glitch. And then when it did complete, they found the transaction itself too costly, which "defeats the whole purpose of using Bitcoin in the first place". Rinse and repeat.
The point is, all of that is true. And probably even the most die-hard of Bitcoin-fanboys and fangirls wouldn't argue. Nobody is saying that Bitcoin is the best ever at anything right now. Yet. For the moment, Bitcoin is unable to be the best of anything, simply because it's still pretty rough around the edges. Bitcoin now is akin to the airplane the Wright Brothers' took up at Kitty Hawk. It flew, but, obviously, it was by no means ready for transatlantic airliner duty.
Basically, the old chestnut about Bitcoin not being a suitable currency is like saying back then that the Wright Brothers' Kitty Hawk plane wasn't suitable for carrying 300+ passengers from New York to Paris in 6 hours.
But anyone with half an ounce of vision can see that it's just a matter of time before Bitcoin fulfills its immense disruption potential. It just needs time. Time to scale. Time to mature.
And in all likelihood, herein lies the rub. Most of these cynical industry observers are in some way vested in the very incumbents that Bitcoin will, in the not-too-distant future, be disrupting. Why else would they insist on looking for a central authority, yield, P/E, industrial use, or other parameters shared by today's asset classes? Clearly, Bitcoin is unlike any other asset class. It defies categorizing and, really, belongs into a category of its own. Insisting on finding an existing conventional investment vehicle label for Bitcoin is like hammering a square peg into a round hole.
Others have noticed how Bitcoin the game-changer may cause shock waves in the worlds of Finance, Banking and commodities trading, and are worried that their investments will be threatened.
Case in point: Gold has been showing signs of systematic unspooling, which for the time of year is highly unusual, particularly in the face of the geopolitical cracks that have begun to form around North Korea. What we could be witnessing here is a reversal of money flow out of gold, into Bitcoin. Not a good sign if you're a gold bug. So those vested in gold prefer to play down Bitcoin's superiority as a safe-haven store of value. Alas, it looks like they're losing the battle.
Bottom line: Bitcoin is no longer going away. Quite the opposite, it appears Bitcoin has entered the mainstream wholesale.
Naysayers are advised to pivot to Bitcoin too, or run the risk of becoming insignificant.
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This is how you do it. /
Buy some.
Disclaimer
I wrote the above article myself and it expresses my own personal opinions and views on Bitcoin. I am unable to guarantee that the information and/or results will be correct. Furthermore, whilst I own some cryptocurrencies, I do not receive compensation for my writing and I have no business relationship with any of the companies mentioned in above article. In addition, I am not an investment advisor and above article is for purely informational purposes. Investors are advised to personally undertake adequate due diligence, or to consult a financial advisor in order to determine what assets - if any - are appropriate to invest in.
Bryan
Bryan, a Singapore PR, has spent two separate stints in Singapore, spanning close to two decades. As is the case for most non-techies, although Bryan's first exposure to Bitcoin was around 2010, it wasn't love at first sight. However, Bitcoin's impressive resilience, meteoric rise and world-changing potential have converted Bryan, to the extent that he has now pivoted to fully commit to Bitcoin.
By all means publicize above article in your blog or magazine. A link back would be appreciated.