Bitcoin has become one of the most popular digital currencies, along with Ethereum and Litecoin.
But, what will the status of bitcoin be in 2022? While it’s impossible to know what the future holds, you can base your guess on current trends that could influence its growth or decline. Here are some possibilities!
I believe bitcoin will become mainstream
Most people are still having difficulties understanding what crypto is, and how it works. The ones who have bought their first cryptocurrency aren’t sure if they should spend it or if they should invest it again.
The general public doesn’t have enough information about cryptos yet to know how to relate to them. I believe in five years, things will look completely different for bitcoins.
In fact, I can even go further and say that everything we know about money today will change drastically as well. Soon, I believe that all electronic payments will happen using cryptocurrencies and paper money will become obsolete.
The major investment banks have started trading bitcoin
Governments and financial institutions have begun to embrace Bitcoin and have shown willingness to learn more about how it works.
News that major investment banks are starting to trade Bitcoin has been greeted with euphoria by some supporters, who believe that these developments signal a growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies.
Among those leading these efforts are CME Group, which owns Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which is a multinational company that operates 23 regulated exchanges on six continents. The two exchanges announced on May 24, 2018 that they would launch cash-settled Bitcoin futures contracts by mid-December 2018, pending regulatory review from US authorities.
The news sent ripples through markets around the world and was celebrated as a major milestone for cryptocurrencies.
I believe it’s going to go over $20,000
Bitcoin has shown an amazing level of growth and stability over 2017, so it’s hard to say there’s any reason to doubt its continued performance.
Yes, there’s volatility inherent in cryptocurrency—but by 2023 or 2024, we might have a whole new understanding about that volatility and accept it as a normal feature for digital currency. I wouldn’t expect Bitcoin to disappear at any point; rather, its stability may encourage other cryptocurrencies to develop and flourish.
Many of those could pass Bitcoin by by 2023 or 2024—it’s just too early to tell which one (or ones) may emerge as more profitable alternatives.
I believe it’s going to crash back down to the $5,000 price range
It’s a bit hard to say where Bitcoin is going to be within a couple years. The price is growing at an exponential rate right now, but I wouldn’t say it can keep that pace up forever.
However, if people continue to find uses for it, then it could maintain or even grow its value. Ultimately, though, I think its value will drop substantially in just a few years.
Will governments adopt bitcoin as legal tender
Probably not, but they are warming up to it. Many governments are beginning to recognize Bitcoin and some have even accepted it as legal tender.
At a minimum, regulators want to avoid an outright ban. Instead, government policy seems likely to embrace Bitcoin as long as it meets certain criteria—at least for now:
- (1) It is used primarily for online purchases and not physical goods.
- (2) It does not represent a threat to financial stability.
- (3) Users pay their taxes.
When evaluating risk, government officials seem to care more about the currency than about the blockchain. There are also plenty of arguments against Bitcoin from outside observers
Will bitcoin succeed as an alternative currency?
Bitcoin has been around for less than a decade, but it’s already had an interesting journey. Based on pure speculation and a white paper by an anonymous person or group, it started at a low price that didn’t change much for years.
Then, in 2017, it spiked suddenly to over $7000 per bitcoin after Japan recognized it as currency. As I write these words (Dec 2018), it is trading at $3900 and continues to fluctuate wildly on any given day.
So where is Bitcoin headed over time? I have absolutely no idea; just like anyone else, my opinion is worthless so I’ll focus instead on how we got here and what we can learn from its history thus far to predict its future—or lack thereof.
Will we see widespread social and political change thanks to crypto?
Before talking about what we might see over a period of five years, it’s worth reflecting on how much things have changed over just the past two or three.
When someone told me, I’m into Bitcoin, three years ago, I had no idea what that meant. Today when people are talking about it I nod along because I understand all too well.
With acceptance on an upward trend and price at an all-time high (or low), there’s more attention than ever on cryptocurrencies. Even people who don’t understand anything about cryptocurrency can talk confidently—and often passionately—about their opinions.
Blockchain technology is a lot like democracy: people are less engaged with it than they should be and yet have very strong opinions about it!
What will governments do about crypto fraud and theft?
You’re bound to have heard that crypto prices are down again today. If you haven’t, I’m talking about Bitcoin, which has taken a hit from around $6,000 to $5,700 over 24 hours—having previously been as high as $7,400 (which is less than half its December peak).
Yes, it means your investment is worth less right now. But what can we expect next? Is it a permanent decline or just a minor setback before another upward spike? And more importantly: what will governments do about all these dodgy cryptocurrencies and ICOs stealing people’s money with no guarantee they’ll ever get anything back?! Hopefully our guest blogger knows something
If a country were to ban cryptocurrency, how could they enforce it?
There is a big question of how to enforce any kind of ban on Bitcoin. If a government were to try to control Bitcoin, it would be very difficult for them to trace transactions due to their pseudonymous nature.
And if they did manage to track down Bitcoin transactions, it would still be very hard for them to actually prevent people from using it.
After all, any major country that banned cryptocurrency would lose access to tons of profit and leave itself open for attack by other countries who had not banned cryptocurrencies.
Also, if a country did ban cryptocurrency, there are still many ways that people could get around these bans using virtual private networks (VPNs), Tor and other technologies that allow users some anonymity online.
Conclusion
When researching I found multiple articles, but couldn’t find any that could accurately predict what will happen in 5 years. Personally, I believe it will be a part of everyday life. It can already used to buy items on Amazon and has been around since 2009.
My guess is that once people see how safe and quick it is to use, they won’t want to go back. There is still time for us to invest now and have big returns later on down the road when we don’t even notice it anymore.
As long as there are tech-savvy people out there like me who like taking risks with their money, I believe cryptocurrency and bitcoin will continue growing over time.