It is not new that Bitcoin has made some people pretty much rich overnight (in some cases undeserved). But the big question is: “What is the potential of Bitcoin now? Are you too late? Has the train already left? “.
Now, If you read most of the forecasts, be them based on technical study or under the impact of paranormal movement or a divinity complex, the majority point to an increment in BTC price over the following years, going through all kinds of synthetic and unreasonable values (20K,50K,100K 1M per BTC). There are of course those that vouch for the contrary, although not as many, nor with the corresponding intensity in their arguments.
All in all, take it as you like, but be planned for the worst situation, making sure that that would not have a serious influence on your earnings aside from a somewhat sorry conscious. Anything that goes beyond is a foolish venture.
The concept of Bitcoin
Well, the “concept of bitcoin” is not about some virtual property that you purchase, hold and make (fiat) profit! This concept is about holding a “currency” that operates globally without a boundary or middle man, so it can not be regulated, controlled, closed down, seized,… so if you really learned this concept and loved it then you already understand that it is never late to begin applying the unique decentralized currency of the world.
Also, you don’t need to get the profound technicalities of bitcoin to be ready to be bullish on bitcoin. There are a lot of big stars in the community like apparently Saifedean Ammous(author of The Bitcoin Standard) and Tim Draper(quite a popular investor) that knows what Bitcoin can do and what it’s attempting to resolve, but not certainly know the technical principle.
Also, if you don’t have that much cash to “invest”, you can periodically go moderate. You save $50 a week? Then put in $5 a week. As time passes, that will gradually but certainly expand.
As for the volatility, you need to realize that bitcoin is a 10-year-old asset(in opposition to gold which is pretty much old), so market liquidity will be very economical as anticipated. It will take time for bitcoin to be solid in price. Gold is decently steady right now because of the very large liquidity it has. Understanding Bitcoin’s adoption would be in a gradual upward long-term trend and as people recognize the significance of a decentralized currency, expect Bitcoin to go the same route as gold in terms of liquidity.
As for the applications, you’re going to get different interpretations of this. Some people individually keep it as an investment, some people hold it to use it online, and some apply it for both.
Bitcoin? HODL HODL HODL!!!
Since you are late. Don’t force yourself. Just ease. Read any crypto material etc. As time passes by and let’s say you stay to be involved in crypto, you will quickly understand what’s the most useful stuff to do that might accommodate you. People have different choices, and you are not different.
The final goal here is to improve the number of your BTC, as much as possible or if by any occasion, whether how you stare at it, as a currency or as an investment.
To compile all of this, don’t press yourself to make “lots” while on the newbie stage. Knowing everything will take time.
How many people own Bitcoin?
Since the blockchain of Bitcoin is publicly visible, one can estimate relatively well how many people own Bitcoin. At the moment, the bitcoins are divided into about 24 million addresses . Assuming that an address belongs to a person, this is an upward estimate, since it is common for multiple addresses to be used by one person. However, not a few people will keep their coins on a stock exchange and thus have Bitcoins, but no own address. As a result, the estimate seems to be relatively well balanced. So if you assume that 24 million addresses mean 24 million owners, then you can say that about 0.3% of all people own bitcoin.
To classify:
1. The number of millionaires is estimated at around 16 million and is thus in the same order of magnitude.
2. 0.3% of all people was the approximate number of users of the Internet in 1995 .
It will be interesting to look at the wealth distribution of Bitcoin. 11 million of the 24 million addresses have less than 0.001 Bitcoin (~ $ 5 / $). Only five million addresses actually have a balance of about $ 100 in Bitcoin. And a maximum of 9,000 users are “Bitcoin millionaires”.
Conclusion
Although Bitcoin and cryptocurrency have been mainstreamed in recent years, Bitcoin is still quite a niche currency. Hardly anyone owns Bitcoin, and for a global currency, there is definitely room for improvement when Bitcoin wants to play in the same league as stock corporations, money or gold.
However, one must also say that Bitcoin is constantly evolving and currently is still too complicated for the average consumer. Further innovation is needed to improve the scalability and usability of Bitcoin before it can reach more people. The mainstream will only be possible when the operation of Bitcoin is very easy and the last technical subtleties are solved. The masses come when people are no longer really aware that they use Bitcoin.
Besides Bitcoin there are of course other cryptocurrencies. However, Bitcoin is about 10 times larger than the second largest currency, which is why we have limited ourselves to Bitcoin in this comparison.