Is Bitcoin Dead? – A Detailed Answer

The price of Bitcoin has been dropping rapidly over the course of the previous nine days, and the number one currency is currently valued at $4,350 per coin. While BTC value seems to be stable at this new bottom, many believe that it is only a matter of time before the situation changes, and Bitcoin value continues its drop to nothingness. Once again, claims that Bitcoin is dead started flowing around the web, causing panic, the sense of urgency, and advising people to join the sell-off while they can. But, are those claiming this right? Is Bitcoin dead for real this time?

The Deaths of Bitcoin

Without a doubt, the situation regarding Bitcoin and other digital currencies is not as good as it can be. BTC has lost nearly 80% of the value which it had back in January. Every Bitcoin ETF proposal so far was rejected by the SEC, and the even Bakkt project seems to be postponed, and will not arrive before early 2019, at best.

Add the fact that even Jordan Belfort, the infamous and highly controversial Wolf of Wall Street, stated that Bitcoin will soon be dead, and it is of a small surprise that people believe this to be true.

However, this Bitcoin death is far from being its first. Most people that are currently panicking and selling their coins are those that have entered the crypto world at some point in the last year or two. This is when the very existence of crypto blew up, and most of today’s investors started flooding the market.

However, one thing that most of them probably do not know is the fact that Bitcoin has already “died” numerous times. The very first time when this claim emerged was only about a year after BTC was originally launched. In 2010, a website that announced Bitcoin-related information posted a Bitcoin obituary. This was back when its worth was only $0.23. Clearly, this was false, as BTC lived to reach the value of $20,000, as well as its current value of $4,300.

As years went by, Bitcoin died numerous times. It died when Ethereum appeared, bringing the possibility of dApp creation, as well as when the IRS stated that people need to pay taxes for crypto. It also died when Mt Gox got hacked and closed, and even when the Silk Road market got shut down by the FBI. Each time that Bitcoin died, it suffered a significant drawback, only to get launched even higher up than it was before.

Only around 10 or so days ago, Bitcoin had a stable price of $6,400 and it held more than half of the total cryptocurrency market cap. The current drop in price is not another death. It is just a result of another incident involving Bitcoin Cash. However, this is not the only reason why people think that Bitcoin is dead. This time is slightly different than before since there is not a big catastrophe that has sparked this opinion. Rather than that, this time, there is a negative focus on the blockchain technology itself.

Is blockchain just smoke and mirrors?

Bitcoin and its altcoins have brought a large change to the world by serving as proof that people do not have to depend on banks for managing their finances. Soon enough, the technology that served as support for cryptos — blockchain technology — turned out to be bigger than just that. People started thinking that middlemen in any business can be cut off, just like the banks will be unnecessary if crypto actually takes off.

However, skeptics are always there to question any kind of an idea, and this was no exception. They demanded results that young blockchain technology is still struggling to achieve. Since nothing spectacular appeared within only a few years since this completely new technology was invented, skeptics started claiming that nothing ever will. Repeating this for long enough has started having an effect, and more investors started believing it, which has directly influenced blockchain and crypto.

Furthermore, numerous startups that revolved around this technology have already failed, which somehow serves as proof that relying on blockchain technology will destroy businesses. Despite the fact that there is roughly the same percentage of failed blockchain startups as there is in any other industry, the fact that people do not understand this technology yet influenced their opinion in a negative way.

In addition to that, crypto and blockchain technologies are bringing a big change that will likely have a serious impact on the way modern business is run. Transparency, decentralization, and the fact that middlemen will be obsolete have scared many that take advantage of people in order to make a profit. It is these individuals and companies that are the strongest and most vocal speakers against new technologies. While there are many who are pure skeptics, it is believed that a lot of negativity towards new technologies comes simply from the fact that some entities want to keep things as they are for as long as possible.

Luckily, not everyone thinks like that, and a lot of forward-looking firms and individuals are spending all of their efforts on improving and further developing these technologies. Companies are hiring thousands of staff members to create new dApps, decentralized systems, and blockchain investments are still high. In time, they will likely only get higher.

Eventually, one of the two groups will be proven wrong. When that happens, the other one will dominate, and the time of change will arrive. Many view Bitcoin and crypto as modern trends. However, when it comes to the blockchain, this is a new type of technology. While trends may pass in time, we were never known for giving up on new tech, especially one as powerful and with as much potential as the blockchain.

So, is Bitcoin dead? Probably not. Bitcoin has survived and surpassed numerous incidents, hacking attacks, and similar events. Many of them were much worse than what is currently happening. Its future now depends on a handful of projects, regulation, and mass adoption, most of which will be influenced by the blockchain itself going mainstream. This might take a bit more time to happen, but experts and analysts remain convinced that it will happen sooner, rather than later.

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Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Global Coin Report and 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 and read our full disclaimer.

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