The word cryptocurrency remains nothing new to the world today and it’s clearly because of Bitcoin (BTC). With time, the crypto asset set itself in such a manner that it is known as the synonym of cryptocurrency. Although in terms of use cases and utilities, a number of cryptocurrencies have emerged within the last several years, still the top position of Bitcoin remained undebatable.
Bitcoin History Since its Inception
In the year 2009, Bitcoin was brought to the world after several months of releasing its white paper. The pseudonym creator Satoshi Nakamoto cited the dissatisfaction from the traditional financial system that remained under the control of centralized authorities and sought a decentralized peer-to-peer transaction system.
Bitcoin (BTC) is primarily an amalgam of two cutting edge technologies—cryptography and blockchain. Both these technologies were brought together to create the first cryptocurrency bitcoin over the blockchain named Bitcoin itself. The underlying need was to ensure decentralization, fast transaction, security and privacy like features from a currency. Cryptocurrency was seen as a potential medium to satisfy these needs.
The notion of cryptocurrency was although known to the world whereas it was in discussion since the 1980s. It brought into the light and became mainstream with the creation of bitcoin (BTC). And same goes for blockchain which dates back to 1990 where researchers were finding a solution to time-stamp the digital documents to procure from being tempered or changed.
Redefining the Finance Using Technology
Initially bitcoin (BTC) did not get any specific attention but gradually people found cryptocurrency crucial once finding its features useful. Flocking of users turned into huge demand and the price went on to shoot up. The price of bitcoin during July 2010 was around 0.0008 USD to 0.08 USD. In November 2021, it achieved its all time high of more than 69,000 USD.
People started considering BTC as a safe haven to put their wealth into and started looking at it as a hedge against inflation. For a long time, Gold had the position but the crypto asset also started being treated the same which termed it as ‘digital gold’.
Cryptocurrency market is still in its nascent phase and needs some more time to evolve and mature. The volatility still remains an issue halting it from standing as a currency. Rather it started being treated as an investment vehicle, which was not the motive behind its creation in the first place.
What Could the Future Bring for Bitcoin?
Now when the digital gold turned into an investment asset, the very use case of using it as a currency left somewhere behind. To fill the gap many cryptocurrencies evolved following Bitcoin (BTC) and many of them leveraged far better advantages. Yet the dominance of the first cryptocurrency hardly got challenged by any.
Bitcoin (BTC) price has seen enormous growth in the past several years with tremendous fluctuations in between. For instance, BTC is trading at around 16,870 USD and currently down by more than 75% from its all time high.
Many supporters of and analysts believe that the Bitcoin (BTC) price could reach between 100,000 USD to 1 million USD. However, the market slowdown born of the current crypto winter is not under anyone’s control and the market is also not prone to these instances. How long the flagship cryptocurrency will have to suffer along with other cryptocurrencies could not be said clearly, but the optimism is still high and it might reflect into the actual value in upcoming times.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions stated by the author, or any people named in this article, are for informational ideas only, and they do not establish the financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading crypto assets comes with a risk of financial loss.
Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast and believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/12/31/bitcoin-past-present-and-future-of-the-first-cryptocurrency/