Connect with us

Bitcoin

Bitcoin (BTC) Is Still The Undisputed King Of Crypto: Here’s Why

Published

on

Bitcoin Recovery

Bitcoin (BTC) has had a tough rap over the last few months. The slowdown in transaction processing times and the increased fees that have come on the back of increased transaction volume (in other words, scalability issue) have exposed the technology’s primary flaws and, in doing so, led many to suggest that the flagship coin has had its day.

Well, not so fast.

Sure, bitcoin is down right now. At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin comes in at around $10,400 apiece, giving it a total market capitalization of a little over $175 billion. Sure, so-called competitor coins like Bitcoin Cash (BCH) are trying to muscle in on bitcoin’s superiority as a transaction coin. Sure, the potential for Ethereum (ETH) to overtake bitcoin from a market capitalization perspective (the so called Flippening) is increasingly becoming a possibility.

But forget all that for a moment. Bitcoin is going nowhere.

When you look at the current state of bitcoin, the two primary arguments for the flagship digital currency fading away to insignificance are those outlined above – that the transaction times are too slow and that the fees are too high. These are reasonable arguments given what’s happening right now on the network but as far as long-term implications are concerned, they are essentially insignificant.

Why?

Because bitcoin is only having scaling issues because it’s the only cryptocurrency that has scaled to such a degree that network scalability has become a problem. Let’s put that another way:

In order to have scaling issues, a coin has to scale.

None of the other coins (the transaction type coins, that is, for simplicity’s sake we’ll leave smart contract tokens like ETH out of this discussion going forward) have reached anywhere near the daily volume that bitcoin churns out and so it’s practically impossible to compare any one coin with bitcoin as far as issue resolution is concerned.

BTC Daily Chart

BTC Daily Chart

Roger Ver can host a live stream demonstration comparing BTC to BCH transaction times and fees but it means nothing. Of course the BCH network is going to be faster and cheaper right now – Bitcoin Cash is doing around 6% of the daily transaction volume that bitcoin is.

When BCH reaches $10 billion a day in daily transaction volume, conduct the same like for like comparison and you’ll get very different results.

But there’s another, more important point to make here.

Above, we said that in order to have scaling issues you’ve got to scale to a point where these issues become apparent. The same is true for the following:

In order to solve scaling issues, you’ve got to have scaling issues.

And it’s this point in time that bitcoin is at right now. There are numerous solutions being implemented today (SegWit, Lightning and more) that will reduce transaction fees and processing times on the bitcoin network. These solutions aren’t going to happen overnight – they are complex technological developments that take time to integrate and, perhaps more importantly, integrate correctly – but the integration is happening right now and it’s not going to be long before they are in place.

And once this happens, bitcoin will become the only cryptocurrency not only to have had scalability issues, but to have overcome these issues.

The mainstream interest in bitcoin over the last six months or so has been good in many ways, but it’s come at a time when bitcoin is having problems. This has led many new entrants to believe that these problems are permanent, since it’s their only experience of the bitcoin network. Other coins (Bitcoin Cash, we’re looking at you) are capitalizing on this misinterpretation.

Keep that in mind.

We will be updating our subscribers as soon as we know more. For the latest on BTC, sign up below!

Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Global Coin Report and/or its affiliates, employees, writers, and subcontractors are cryptocurrency investors and from time to time may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency.


Image courtesy of Flickr

Bitcoin

Bitcoin Price Dumps Below $41,000 Amid Uncertainty

Published

on

By

Bitcoin price dumped hard on Monday, briefly slipping below $41,000, erasing gains recorded in the previous week. The premier cryptocurrency seems to have exhausted its recent rally propelled by industry vulnerabilities. At the time of writing, the world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading slightly lower at $41,385. Bitcoin’s total market cap has dipped by 2% over the past day, while the total volume of BTC tokens traded over the same period climbed by 58%.

Fundamentals

Bitcoin price has been facing retracements and a rollercoaster over the past few days after recently rocketing to a 20-month peak. On-chain data has suggested that many investors used the opportunity to take some profits, leading to a decline in the asset’s price.

Bitcoin’s price slump is mirrored in the wider crypto market, with the global crypto market cap decreasing by 1.85% over the past 24 hours to $1.55 trillion. The total crypto market volume has increased by 32% over the same period. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index has plunged from a level of extreme greed to a greed level of 70, suggesting a decline in risk appetite.

Ethereum, the largest altcoin by market capitalization, is currently trading at $2,167, down almost 3% for the day. Meme coins have been hit hard by the market slump, with Dogecoin and Shiba Inu down by more than 4% over the last day.

Last week on Thursday, cryptocurrency experts took notice of…

Continue Reading

Bitcoin

Bitcoin Price is in Consolidation Mode Despite Market Optimism Post-Fed Decision

Published

on

By

Bitcoin price edged lower on Thursday despite optimism in wider markets on the back of the Fed’s interest rate decision. The flagship cryptocurrency has been consolidating above the critical level of $42,000 after briefly topping $44,000, its highest level in 20 months. Bitcoin was trading 0.71% lower at $42,569 at press time. BTC’s total market cap has increased by more than 3% over the last day to $832 billion, while the total volume of the asset traded over the same period jumped by 22%.

Economic Outlook

Bitcoin price has been trading sideways over the past few days, suggesting a pause in its recent rally towards $45,000. The premier cryptocurrency has decreased by 4% in the past week but remains 15.22% higher in the month to date. The digital asset has staged a significant recovery this year after a torrid 2022 in which a string of scandals, including the collapse of FTX, led to a market meltdown, undermining the credibility of the sector.

The crypto market has been buoyed by the Fed’s latest interest rate decision. The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its key interest rate unchanged for the third consecutive time, in line with market expectations. With the easing of the inflation rate, members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted to keep the benchmark overnight borrowing rate in a targeted range between 5.25%-5.5%.

Additionally, the central bank indicated that three rate…

Continue Reading

Bitcoin

Bitcoin Price Blasts $44K in Spectacular Surge as Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval Looms Large

Published

on

By

Bitcoin price has been hovering above the $43,000 psychological level over the past two days amid anticipation about the potential approval of a spot bitcoin ETF. The flagship cryptocurrency has climbed more than 16% in the past week and nearly 170% in the year to date. Bitcoin’s total market cap has increased by nearly 5% over the past 24 hours to $858.9 billion, while the total volume of the token traded rose by 43%. The Bitcoin price was trading at $43,914 at press time.

Fundamentals

Bitcoin price has posted significant gains over the past few days, climbing to its highest level since April 2022, before the crash of a stablecoin that started a litany of company failures, pummeling crypto prices. The world’s largest cryptocurrency briefly topped the crucial level of $44,000 on Wednesday amid rising momentum despite being massively overbought.

According to analysts, with no spot bitcoin ETF approvals yet and the halving event five to six months away, the market is riding on FOMO. Capital has been flowing in the Bitcoin market amid enthusiasm that the launches of spot ETF will bring in billions of dollars of new investment into the crypto sector.

Investors have already started providing capital as seed money for ETF products. Notably, a recent report by CoinDesk showed that the world’s largest fund manager, BlackRock, received $100,000 in capital from a seed investor for its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund…

Continue Reading

Trending