A few weeks back I posted an article titled “Is Bitcoin a Bubble or the Future?“.
Despite some zealous pushback from cryptocurrency fanatics on social media, I have to admit that my initial conclusions haven’t changed at all, rather, due to recent price fluctuations in bitcoin, they’ve become more cemented.
Jonathan Sterling of toptal.com brilliantly unpacks the current cryptocurrency euphoria, compares the current cryptocurrency market to previous bubbles, and opens the bear case for cryptocurrency investing; describing 2017’s price movements as “Cryptocurrencies are riding on a narrative of economic empowerment and freedom” and concluding “The case for cryptocurrency isn’t so clear-cut for either side; however, I think that it’s safe to say that we are currently in a speculative bubble rather than a solid emerging market. At present, the case for cryptocurrencies is largely exaggerated and exploited upon by their supporters. Investors should be wary. That said, the technology of the blockchain revolution does have fantastic potential and shouldn’t be completely ignored. If the market can successfully navigate regulatory waters and weed out the scamsters, it has a very good chance of succeeding, but if not, it is doomed.”
The world of cryptocurrencies is complex and volatile. The underlying blockchain technology that drives bitcoin and cryptocurrencies cannot be ignored with potential applications vast and potentially game-changing. However, the regulatory and technical issues that are plaguing and yet to plague the cryptocurrency market will, I believe, lead to its inevitable downfall, but this might not always be the case. Both the cryptocurrency concept and technology is promising and may pave the way for a solution without the same major pitfalls. At the moment, I believe we’re experiencing a market euphoria around cryptocurrency version 1.0 that still needs its kinks straightened out before it can be taken too seriously.
I would highly recommend reading the full article by Jonathan Sterling here.