With the current surge in the price of Bitcoin, I believe this is only the beginning. Companies that integrate Bitcoin now will have a major advantage over those that don’t take the time to truly understand what it is, and how it’s positioned to completely change currency as we know it.
I’m not going to talk about what Bitcoin’s current price is or how much it’s gained recently — that data can be easily seen using this index and live chart resource. What I do want to touch on, though, is why Bitcoin’s price is increasing and hitting all-time highs on an almost daily basis.
Bitcoin’s Supply is a Key Factor in Driving Its Price
The U.S. dollar can be printed at any time, flooding the market with new currency. Bitcoin, however, is limited — as in you cannot simply turn on a printing press and inject more of it into the economy.
Bitcoin has an engineered fixed supply created through mining: a system that rewards those who process transactions on the blockchain.
Through mining, new Bitcoin is created at a set rate that continuously becomes slower over a fixed period of time — the last bitcoin is set to be mined in May of 2140. With roughly 10% of the total supply left to be mined, Bitcoin’s design of scarcity is in full effect.
As Bitcoin becomes more understood, buying interest has shifted from mostly individuals to now include institutional buyers. With this demand to own a single Bitcoin continually increasing, combined with its limited supply, the price is set to continue to rise for the foreseeable future.
Inflation and the Stimulus Bills Are Driving Down the Dollar’s Value
The U.S. has been freely printing money for years, and now more than ever, it’s having a major impact on the dollar’s declining value. We are now in the middle of the second stimulus bill, and these combined with the Paycheck Protection Program, has resulted in trillions of dollars being introduced into the economy to help those impacted by COVID-19 and the pandemic.
I’m not saying the stimulus bills and help for small businesses wasn’t warranted — it was needed desperately. Businesses were forced to shut down and jobs were lost, but the increase in money will greatly diminish the dollar’s value long-term.
Increased spending fueled by the stimulus funds has many predicting major rates of inflations, which makes perfect sense. Investors and traditional financial institutions need to find ways to hedge against this, and Bitcoin is one asset that is going to at the very least maintain its value, although recent activity shows that it has appreciated considerably during the pandemic.
Bitcoin’s future volume is already established — how many will ever exist is already written into its code. At any time you can verify, with complete certainty, how many exist present, and how many will exist in the future. This is the only currency on the planet with a limited and fixed supply.
To Understand Bitcoin’s Potential You Need to Understand Halving
Halving is something that is built into Bitcoin’s code, and once you understand it, you will see why it has such incredible potential and why interest has spiked in the middle of stimulus rounds that are greatly diminishing the dollar’s value.
Every time 210,000 blocks are mined, the reward extended to miners for processing Bitcoin transactions is cut in half. This will continue until the entire supply of Bitcoin is released — 21 million in total. And that amount is estimated to be 18.59 million at the time of this writing — 88.5% of the total supply is already in the market.
Why is this important to know? It’s no secret that the U.S. isn’t afraid to print more currency and there is a consistent amount of gold being mined annually. Halving ensures that Bitcoin will never fall victim to the inflation issues that face the U.S. dollar and other assets with a projected consistent long-term supply, such as gold.
Institutional Adoption of Bitcoin is Happening Right Before Our Eyes
Many traditional financial institutions are buying Bitcoin rather than holding onto cash. MassMutual, a fairly conservative insurance company, recently purchased $100 million worth of Bitcoin.
This was big news for Bitcoin, and fueled a lot of interest, as MassMutual tends to make investments in proven financial products — high investment-grade instruments. This move validated Bitcoin in a major way.
When investment companies like this — OG’s in the space — show high confidence in Bitcoin’s potential, it’s a very good indication that it’s a wise hedge against inflation. Along with the purchase of Bitcoin, we are also seeing widespread adoption from financial service providers.
Payment gateways and processors like PayPal support Bitcoin and e-commerce platforms like Shopify allow merchants to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment.
Final Thoughts: Does Bitcoin Have Long-Term Staying Power?
Yes, absolutely.
Bitcoin has evolved significantly over the years, from its early inception, and its primary use of a way to purchase illegal products and services online, to the current times and being called one of the best long-term financial investments.
Another reason I believe Bitcoin has gained interest from the masses is that it’s become significantly easier to become involved. Years ago purchasing and storing Bitcoin was quite the process — it was overly complicated, especially for non-technical individuals.
Currently, more businesses continue to accept Bitcoin as a legitimate form of currency, as well as integrate Bitcoin and its technology into their business in unique ways. As Bitcoin continues to become more widely understood, it is now easier to acquire by those with less tech know-how.
Bitcoin is breaking all-time high records on an almost daily basis, more institutional investment companies are converting cash-holdings to Bitcoin, and there is growing widespread infrastructure support. These are all strong indications that B
Originally posted by Aaron Irmas on https://www.business2community.com/tech-gadgets/why-bitcoin-is-the-future-of-currency-and-its-growth-has-just-started-02380513
