At this point, we’ve seen a long stretch of weeks where the price of Bitcoin can basically be called $10,000. The price hasn’t moved too far off this target, in either direction, much at all.
From time to time we’ve seen somewhat dramatic drops, but overall we could be in a period of what one might call “stability.”
There’s a number of smart people out there who believe that the “volatility” of Bitcoin markets – the vast fluctuation in the value of a single coin – is a serious deterrent for people adopting cryptocurrency.
How Bitcoin Grows
Now here we are, in yet another long period of relative stability – so where are the adopters?
The question sort of answers itself. If the people were coming in droves, demand would drive the price. Therefore, there’s likely never going to be a prolonged period wherein the price can be stable and the adoption circle is widening as well.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies generally have to penetrate every level of society.
Blockchain needs to become a household word.
The only way for these things to happen is for people to try it. Therefore, when the price drops, someone willing to take a risk might actually walk to the Bitcoin ATM and try it out.
Crypto will be truly successful when people are willing to use it for peer-to-peer payments – in person, buying gas, or getting paid from work.
At this point, it does seem that banks will play a role in the blockchainization of all the things. Whether you like it or not, banks built the standing financial system. They’ll have input on how the future of finance looks regardless – if they’re going to participate in blockchain, all the better.
Too often, one-sided stories are told about cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin’s Next Jump
Either someone is shilling for the blockchain world, or someone is denigrating it without noting any of its good points.
Neither of these styles are good.
Blockchain, as a technology, has its drawbacks. Bitcoin, as a currency, certainly does – and its volatility may be chief among them. It’s also slow compared to regular fiat cash and it might not scale to support millions of active users.
Therefore, it’s worth noting that both can be problematic, when considered solutions. But if you consider them instead to be experiments which may or may not yield serious results, both financially and in the way of improving the world, then you may have a better experience.
Volatility isn’t universally hated, and it shouldn’t be. Many traders love it – it makes BTC exactly the type of asset they want to hold, where overnight they can have 40% gains. They can also see severe losses.
That’s the trade off of entering cryptocurrency, which is something people are going to do on their own time.
In summary: volatility is probably less important than things like awareness. Volatility does a lot for adoption when it’s spiking or dropping, as people become aware through the mainstream media.
Stability doesn’t provide that, and it also doesn’t seem to have provided a massive influx of new users, either.
