In recent weeks Bitcoin's price has seemed to continue marching higher. But what is driving this growth? It turns out there are a wide variety of factors that continue to make Bitcoin rise in value.
What is Bitcoin?
The first cryptocurrency to be offered for sale was back in 2009 when Bitcoin was introduced to the world. A decentralised payment system that uses blockchain technology, it uses a complex ledger to record every transaction made on it. Using Bitcoin, this ledger can be modified and amended by all of its users, without any need for approval from a third party. This makes it extremely hard to change or tamper with transactions, thus making it impossible to hack. Just last week Bitcoin broke a $6,000 barrier, making it the first cryptocurrency to reach this level in 2018. The only other major cryptocurrency to reach this level has been Ethereum. Today, Bitcoin's price is hovering around $7,600.
How does Bitcoin's price impact its use?
Bitcoin is gaining a following and a lot of people are starting to appreciate its potential. Currently there are several ways in which Bitcoin can be used. The most common is to make purchases. A quick search online shows numerous places where you can buy bitcoins with your debit or credit card. However, there are currently only a few payment gateways that allow you to purchase with cash, whereas several online stores accept Bitcoin as payment. Bitcoin is also an increasingly popular method of payment for digital content. Now that it is easier to use Bitcoin, many websites are beginning to accept it for media and items that have not yet been converted to it. There are currently more than 50 different Bitcoin wallets available that can be used to store and transfer Bitcoin.
What are the factors driving the growth of Bitcoin?
The Cryptocurrency: Major announcements that made headline news in the crypto community last month include BitGo's updates to their platform, Filecoin's acquisition of storage companies Quorum and Truedrive, and Bitstamp's decision to launch its own bitcoin debit card. A few days after Bitstamp's announcement the cryptocurrency closed in on the $4,000 mark for the first time. Bitcoin has closed around $4,004 in early November. Over the past week the currency has risen another 5.5 percent. The Review: Recently Bitstamp announced that they would launch their own bitcoin debit card. This is a statement that can easily be interpreted as a sign of mainstream acceptance for bitcoin, which is something that many people thought was impossible until now.
How can I invest in Bitcoin?
There are various ways you can get involved with cryptocurrency. Buying Bitcoin can be one of them. It is difficult to get more info about the options available to you unless you head to a bitcoin ATM. When using these machines to buy Bitcoin you won't have to use your credit card. Your Bitcoin balance will then appear on your dashboard. More About Crypto In our current political climate there is a divide amongst people. And Bitcoin represents a unique asset. It is seen as a replacement for the American Dollar, and the oil sector. There have been price hikes throughout the year, especially since August. Even so, Bitcoin has been around for so long that it has already managed to become one of the most used cryptocurrencies. For some people, cryptocurrencies are viewed with caution.
What is driving the Bitcoin market?
This week's price rise may seem inexplicable. But as we will discuss in detail, Bitcoin is under no immediate threat of anything going wrong to halt the upward move in value. In fact, all the hard work that goes into making Bitcoin grow and flourish is the exact reason the cryptocurrency is continuing to gain in value. Can the banks run Bitcoin to the ground? It is unlikely the major banks will ever be able to track Bitcoin. If the banks were able to detect where Bitcoin was being mined then the cryptocurrency would be rendered useless and no one would ever use it. That's why banks don't even attempt to regulate Bitcoin any more. Bitcoin technology could not be tampered with if a bank attempted to somehow disable the algorithm which underlies Bitcoin.
Bitcoin in the media
Another driver for Bitcoin's value increase has been the recent coverage it has received in the media. There have been articles reporting on Bitcoin's value rise in national news. For example, the Wall Street Journal reported on the bitcoin price rise and its implications. CNBC covered how bitcoin is being regarded as a commodity for the first time. The main problem with the media coverage of Bitcoin, though, is the difficulty of separating bitcoin from the larger narrative surrounding it. It is difficult to create an article that doesn't include the word "blockchain," for example. This prevents Bitcoin from gaining its own story and it does not contribute to the more valuable narrative of Bitcoin as a technology.
The market for Bitcoin
One of the main drivers in Bitcoin's recent price increase is likely due to increased demand. It is true that Bitcoin has grown increasingly popular since its introduction, and that the rising use of Bitcoin has become a global trend. Many believe that cryptocurrencies are now here to stay, and they say Bitcoin is the "front-runner". Despite this, with a massive range of cryptocurrencies in the market, it seems like demand is quite low. Perhaps this is because many cryptocurrencies are currently harder to use, while others can be more expensive and complex to use. This is quite similar to the demand for dollars – for example, many governments around the world have been reducing the amount of cash money in circulation over the last few years.
Conclusion
The price of Bitcoin has gone up by 200% since September 2017. One possible reason for the rise is because more traders are using the cryptocurrencies than ever before. But the cryptocurrency's meteoric rise is also increasing the mainstream media's interest in the digital currency. Last week, The New York Times reported that the crypto market was worth more than gold at some points. Overall, Bitcoin and other digital currencies have increased in popularity in recent years. But how can you profit from this trend? Learn more about the cryptocurrency at bitco. By Lucas Denney, Wealth Daily If you would like to be a guest blogger or contribute to the data and research at Kitco, please email us here.
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