Will Bitcoin Be The Currency Of The Future?
By: Aashish Sharma
Tags: Bitcoin

Technology has changed everything around us. It has penetrated into our day to day lives such that living without them is unimaginable now. From healthcare services to entertainment technology has conquered it all. How can the financial industry be left untouched? From online banking services to blockchains, a lot of changes have come into effect in the last few years. One such change that changed the way we look at trading was bitcoin.

Many experts have presented varying opinions about this cryptocurrency. From being a bubble waiting to be burst to the future of online transaction, we have heard it all.

Among all the speculations, one thing that is known for sure is that if not bitcoins at least cryptocurrencies are definitely here to stay. The value of bitcoins has been fluctuating a lot but it is seen as a viable option for investment. It has seen a huge surge from $3000 in mid- November to $19000 in December 2017.

The Parameters That Experts Consider While Deciding The Future Of Bitcoins Are Discussed Below: -

Highly Secured — Like every other cryptocurrency, blockchains are the backbone of bitcoins. Blockchains are so secured that it is impossible to hack them. Also, the cost of verifying transactions is less than that of central banks because the transaction of cryptocurrency happens between the two parties without the intervention of a bank. These transactions made by an individual are recorded in a digital ledger or a blockchain. The security of blockchains has even made banks to consider it as an option for them.

Shield Against Economic Problems — Government of countries like Zimbabwe and Venezuela have started using bitcoins as a major means of exchange because the value of their own currencies was low due to inflation. So, in such countries which are suffering from hyperinflation bitcoins seems a more stable option to transact.

Fluctuating Value — The value of bitcoins fluctuates a lot. Other currencies have a central bank to stabilize their values which is something that bitcoins lack and hence we see a huge shift in their value very regularly.

Ease For Criminals- The problem with too much privacy is that it can give criminals a leeway. Since no third party is involved it means anyone can use it to buy anything which is a serious concern. Apart from this, there is an issue with taxing the bitcoins transactions as well and so many people use it to avoid taxes.

Lack Of Strong Framework — Another major problem with bitcoins is that unlike VISA’s network which is capable of supporting 65,000 transactions per second, bitcoins can only support 7 per second. This can act as a major hindrance in promoting bitcoin transaction on a country level. Also, since the number of bitcoins in circulation is limited and there is an upper cap on the number of bitcoins that can be mined. We will always be plagued with the question how many bitcoins are left?

Considering all of the above-mentioned factors we are not very sure about the role of bitcoins as the future currency but we can say for sure that bitcoins have paved the way for the world to consider cryptocurrencies as the future of all their transactions.