While many in the cryptocurrency market are continuing to bet it all on Bitcoin, the world’s most popular digital currency, it continues to lose faith among a great deal of lifelong investors due to its sheer volatility.
It’s no secret that Bitcoin has seen better days; after never recovering from falling well below its peak valuation some are concerned that if it doesn’t see some serious movement soon that it could quickly lose ground to competing cryptocurrencies --which are beginning to establish themselves as new leaders in the market.
Yes folks, the door is open for new leaders in niche crypto spaces.
Here’s everything you need to know about Bitcoin’s latest movements, and how the cryptocurrency fares when juxtaposed against leading competitors in a broader market.
Bitcoin Fell Down the Stairs and It Can’t Get Up
While Bitcoin drew many global headlines after it reached an all-time high valuation just short of $20,000 in 2017, the cryptocurrency has since been stumbling in fits and starts, gradually settling down below the $7,000 mark in a dire lull.
Critics have seized upon the cryptocurrency’s recent poor performance as a method to disprove its long-term viability, and even some long-term Bitcoin holders are beginning to get concerned that the currency is showing lackluster results compared to others like Ethereum.
Nonetheless, Bitcoin has been down, but not out, plenty of times before.
The world’s most famous digital currency has more than its fair share of doubters, and has survived a great deal many plunges that critics called its final lapse in value.
Does that mean that Bitcoin can continue to survive and thrive, however?
Given the increased heat it’s starting to feel in the cryptocurrency market from competing currencies, it stands to reason that the heyday for everyone’s favorite digital currency may be over.
Sure, Bitcoin has been enjoying some positive press along with its steady decline in valuation; an Apple co-founder even implied that the cryptocurrency was a better investment than gold in some ways, which sent a brief shock through the market. For noobs.
The incredibly-limited nature of Bitcoin stands to give the currency some bolstering in the market, but its famous volatility continues to crash any serious gains it makes against competitors like Ethereum and Litecoin.
The Limited Nature of Bitcoin You Say?
Yes, Bitcoin is limited. It’s transaction times will never reach those of Mastercard, or other other mainstream digital currency technologies on either side of the fintech universe.
Given that the digital currency is also hovering at a low $6,700 or so, too, many prominent investors in the cryptocurrency market are beginning to bet on other horses.
And rightly so. Just wait until everyday regular people start shorting it in droves, that is, after the pros do. People bet their houses on it.
Bitcoin has plenty of speculators gambling on the currency’s fate as it is, but it’s lackluster performance simply doesn’t inspire the kind of news coverage or market enthusiasm that once propelled it to record heights.
As unfortunate as it may be, the currency desperately needs to settle down and gain some legitimacy if it intends to ever recover and enjoy long-term gains.
But let’s be honest; the time is ripe for niche uses of the blockchain that don’t involve “version 1.0”.
Institutions Don’t Trust Bitcoin
While Wall Street moguls and well-established institutions in the financial world have gradually been warming up to cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin still isn’t popular in many high places.
Indeed, Ricky NG, founder of i-House.com, believes that many of the world’s most powerful central banks naturally distrust cryptocurrencies thanks to the anonymity and decentralized nature of their operations, for instance.
Simply put, this means that currencies like Bitcoin are having a hard time seriously establishing enough legitimacy for long-term growth. Both in the public trust, and technologically.
That may not all be bad news, however; many investors are drawn to Bitcoin for those exact reasons, after all, and the new-generation of market changes could very well see consumers and businesses around the world keep adopting to these new forms of payment, investment, and speculation.
But does it have to be Bitcoin? No.
Most of the chatter surrounding Bitcoin is likely to remain nothing more than speculation, however; interest in the currency appears to be steadily dropping off, and if changes don’t come soon, Bitcoin may never again enjoy the lofty place in the market it once did.
Bitcoin lacks the public trust it once had.
Internet search activity for Bitcoin has plummeted recently, too, another dire sign of waning interest in the cryptocurrency that’s largely enjoyed a buoyed valuation thanks to extensive media coverage and intense interest on the web surrounding its innovative nature.
If Bitcoin doesn’t enjoy some earned media from international outlets, it could very well see its prospects dry up in the next few years.
The cryptocurrency shows virtually no sign of hitting the highs its investors once enjoyed, and while many long-term investors will hold out, many newcomer investors who hopped onto Bitcoin during the media craze could soon cash out.
I have. And I traded it for new technologies that captured my interest for their technological or use-case grandeur.
Those who backed Bitcoin after they saw it breaking records on the news are likely wanting to see results, and sooner rather than later.
The average attention span of a crypto investor is much lower than that of a typical stock market investor.
Bitcoin’s utter failure to surpass important valuation milestones that critics and supporters alike contend are necessary for the currency’s long-term survival , and it could wind up being disastrous if it doesn’t pick up speed soon.
While many doubters have unfairly maligned the currency for the way some illicit groups have used it to anonymize their financial footprints, there are plenty of legitimate reasons to worry about it, too.
As long as the currency remains shunned amongst institutions, don’t expect major moves from Bitcoin.