Bitcoin is far ahead of the competition in all areas that matter. Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency fulfilling a real purpose for millions of people. In places where inflation is high, like Venezuela and Argentina, people use bitcoin as a store of value. In the “developed” world, many of us hold Bitcoin as a hedge against future monetary chaos. Bitcoin has also been used by organizations like WikiLeaks to raise money when Visa, Mastercard and PayPal shut down their accounts. Bitcoin is money that can’t be censored. Bitcoin’s large user base alone sets it apart. But it also has a large group of developers and contributors who volunteer their time to improve it. It has the largest network of miners securing the network.
Bitcoin is by far the most liquid cryptocurrency. You can exchange bitcoin for local currency around the world using an exchange or a service like LocalBitcoins.
Bitcoin also has some interesting features that are designed to reward long-term holders. The main one is bitcoin’s “halving” effect. Every 4 years, the amount of new Bitcoin coming onto the market gets cut in half. Previous halvings occurred in 2012 and 2016. Both served as powerful price catalysts. The next halving will occur on May 18. The amount of new Bitcoin coming on the market per year will be reduced from around 4% to 2%.
Let’s look at Bitcoin’s annual low prices.
2013: $75
2014: $200
2015: $185
2016: $365
2017: $780
2018: $3,200
2019: $3,360
Only 2015 experienced a lower annual low price to the years before, caused by the disastrous MT. Gox (the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world) hack. It set us back a few years. Exchanges started using much better security practices after that. Today, exchanges use bank-level security and store 95% of their coins offline in cold storages. Another Mt. Gox disaster is highly unlikely.
Bitcoin is set up to head higher. Debt around the world is at record levels. Interest rates are at record lows. And it all looks increasingly unsustainable. This financial chaos should support Bitcoin prices.
Bitcoin is currently trading around $9,400. With the upcoming halving and economic uncertainties Bitcoin should see new all-time highs soon.