@Bryan Devitt, I agree.
I am by no means an expert and I certainly do not have all the answers. However, I do wonder what the future has in store, and from what I’ve seen, it does not look good for bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies out there. Let me explain.
I do believe that digital currency is the future and will replace physical currency at some point in the near future. However, every major economic powerhouse out there, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Russia, etc. are all in the process of developing their own digital currencies. And if there’s one lesson you can see throughout economic history, it’s that governments don’t like competition. As of right now, it’s actually not illegal to use a currency other than the United States dollar for transactions within the United States. However it will be very simple (and all signs point to it being highly likely) that when the ‘Digital Dollar’ rolls out, this will become part of law, as the other countries are looking at doing the exact same thing.
Now, some people will say that there’s no way for the governments to regulate bitcoin or the other crypto currencies. This is not true. They may not be able to control the possession of it, but they can certainly control the transfer of it, such as banning the platforms from processing buy/sell commerce transactions in anything other than the ‘Digital Dollar’ and making the reporting of all cryptocurrency transactions legally required by the different platforms that hold it and process it, with massive penalties that would threaten their existence and ability to operate if they don’t. This way, they can implement and enforce a law that all transactions taking place within US commerce must be in the ‘Digital Dollar’. If you have the European Union, the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, etc., all doing the same things, then crypto currencies such as bitcoin will become relatively worthless because you can’t really use them anywhere. Sure, you could maybe go to Zimbabwe and use them or possibly down to El Salvador, but it’s not gonna do you any good if you’re trying to do business in any of the world’s major economies.
Cryptocurrency is pure speculation. And right now, it seems like it’s one giant game of hot potato. People hold it sell it and buy it in different price points, and admittedly make lots of money in some cases, but at some point the music is going to stop and whoever’s holding the potato when the value drops to near nothing are going to be the losers, and Bitcoin will take its place on the shelf with the horde of limited edition Pogs.
Of course, I could be completely wrong and way off…