The Two Potential Paths for Bitcoin
Today I want to talk about what I believe the two future paths of bitcoin to be. In the past I might have said there were three paths, the third being failure, but today I dont think that is a very likely option. The two major paths that bitcoin could end up taking would ultimately be mainstream success and use or second, a niche underground use and community, both of which are still successful in my eyes. Each could still make the price of a coin more than it is today, but they would have very different implications and ways that coins would be used.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://www.timstreetphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/fog.jpg)
The first path bitcoin could possibly take is mainstream success, which I think many people hope is the outcome. It would mean that bitcoin would be considered a mainstream asset class, governments, businesses, big net worth individuals and others would use it. We would be looking at massive coin valuations, multiple use cases that many use on a daily basis and everyone knowing what it is. For me, this was always the path I wanted bitcoin to take, or else I saw it as failure, but I don't see it that way today. Seeing major institutions get involved at this point has been a boost for both my morale and wallet, but I also have realized it might not completely matter if they are involved at this point.
The second path is going to be the niche underground community path, which is more akin to what bitcoin was for a long time and still is for some other currencies. The market could still get bigger because underground niche communities could still be relatively large (think linux), but it wouldn't include the financial backing from the mainstream institutions that would support it in the primary path. Many of the cypherpunks and developers would continue to use and update the software and it would be an underground movement. That isn't to say that there could be a movement underground and then a resurgence again, that is also a possibility.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/3/6/6/1366_label.jpg?1648)
The real way we are going to figure out which path bitcoin ends up taking, will ultimately come down to government and institutional support. It is very hard or near impossible for governments to destroy bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, but they can do the next best thing, which is kill investment into them. By attacking exchanges, the choke point of crypto at the moment, making the ownership of bitcoin illegal in a country like the United States and basically forbidding the trading of it. This wouldnt kill bitcoin, but it would make massive sums of investment, unreachable.
The governments will start to really be tested when more institutions start playing around with bitcoin because it does represent a threat to monetary policy that is seen as mainstream today. With the ability bitcoin has to affect certain economies, it can be seen in a very dangerous light. Governments might decide that the net benefit is negative and start a campaign against it. These are still very possible scenarios at this point in time. Despite this price going to huge levels, in many ways bitcoin is still an experiment. I for one am interested to see what path is chosen.
-Calaber24p
Wasn't bitcoin supposed to get rid of these institutions and banks? If bitcoin becomes part of the establishment, it will be regulated to death and completely loose its luster.
Yeah, agreed. I wish things would stay as they are now, and let innovation thrive...but government will suck it all out soon enough.
The only good thing is that it's a worldwide phenomenon, so there will always be places that foster innovation rather than crush it. The on/off ramps will be tighter with regulation, though.
No one is ever going to get rid of banks because they provide a level of utility, bitcoin was simply an alternative. I think many of the early libertarians slipped in their own agenda, but many of them have moved on as well. Its impossible to regulate bitcoin unless you are using it within the system, which would be a choice.
Neither of your options is going to happen.
You do understand that there is no chance BTC is ever used for daily transactions? Right? The coin is defective in terms of transaction costs and transaction time. And there is no path tp consensus to resolve that.
So the more likely outcome, which you dont even list, is BTC survives as digital gold. You will use BTC for daily transactions about as frequently as you use real gold today for daily transactions. Effectively never.
Seems the bcash shills have made their way to steemit, so I dont know if I should even address you, but youre wrong. First of all, becoming a store of value and being digital gold, IS MAINSTREAM USE. What do you think institutions will use it for? Mostly as a store of value. Also this whole FUD about not using it for daily transactions is stupid.
Yes you shouldnt use it for a cup of coffee (I never stated mainstream adoption would be by people using it for that), but I can send 200 dollars to any of my friends without a middle man for a couple of bucks using segwit, which for some reason the same people complaining about expensive transactions, dont even implement.
Censorshipless transactions were never meant to be free, there is a trade off. I wouldnt suggest using bitcoin as a form of currency anyway, deflationary currency usually leads to problems. As a store of value or investment class asset-currency hybrid, it can be very useful. Use your USD for coffee, theres no reason to use bitcoin.
Also a block size raise is coming in the future, but it wants to be lumped in with other things as well and lightning will come within the next few years, which for every day use, if you want to use btc for coffee, you could easily do for a tiny amount.
If Lightning is enabled (and that's a big if) maybe it will return to being able to be used for daily transactions. But right now, LTC and many other coins do what BTC was supposed to do...just better.
BTC was just first, but it's certainly not the best right now.
IOTA has plans to, but at this point definitely doesn't have the capacity. If they can realize their goal of decreasing transaction time with increasing use in addition to zero transaction fees then it will be unstoppable.
great read upvoted and followed thanks
![Btc X.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRSHXGKTGZK52LXsTNPUHfv7ed68nSvnd9Z2p81Ekjppg/Btc%20X.jpg)
the government needs to chill so i can make a little money
Wont it be profitable to convert crypto into some currency with lower market capacity????????? bitcoins are making so mucg progress right now all for what coz it has only 21 million market cap max... if u invest into something into even lower market cap then today or tomorrow u can make way more money...plus bitcoin mining is becomng so expensive now that unfortunately people will lose interest i think investing into btc wont be the best option u hv right nw
“You’ll be much better off owning productive assets over the next 50 years than you will be holding…bitcoins. It’s not a currency. I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t around in the next 10-20 years.”
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Alice: Which way should I go?
Cat: That depends on where you are going.
Alice: I don’t know.
Cat: Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.
Lewis Carroll probably got it right for most of us, we don't know. I am glad that you don't see an extinction case for Bitcoin, I believe it too but its role is changing. It has become an awkward on ramp from Fiat currency due to the cost of its transactions. It seems to be becoming a store of value only. No doubt people talk of using it to buy stuff on Amazon but I wouldn't. It seems to be worth more than whatever you buy.
Bitcoin is already having trouble handling the amount of transactions as it is now, with still a small minority of the global population using it. And you really believe it can become a mainstream thing in everyday life? I could agree with pretty much everything you said if only you changed the word "Bitcoin" with "Cryptocurrency".
The us government in the hopes of saving their long depreciation of the dollar will try to slow down the sale of bitcoins.
By enacting draconian laws against cryptocurrencies, they will try to slow down its spread.
But they will not succeed. Many countries have already recognized the cryptocurrency payment.