The polarizing effect of Bitcoin have people in both ends of the scale that proclaim that it will reach the moon or that it will reach zero. The volatile, unprecedented and revolutionary monetary system of cryptocurrencies has a future that not many can predict with accuracy, but as time goes by, the idea of Bitcoin reaching zero seems increasingly exaggerated.
Several commentators , recently - when Bitcoin had been booming - have presented predictions of doom and gloom, warning investors that this new money system - and investment opportunities - will fall into oblivion.
Bitcoin is only 10 years old and has gone from being zero to one $ 20,000 value . So, when we sit down with the lowest price of what many would have expected, is it weak to think that it can get as low as zero?
'Is coming down'
It does not matter if it's about skeptical friends around a table, or Own Dr. Doom, Nouriel Roubini , the prediction that Bitcoin will reach zero is often presented as a counterattack to all the positive advances that cryptocurrencies are making.
Being a new and unprecedented ecosystem, operating in such established ecosystems as finance and money, it is fascinating to observe how the volatile asset advances . One day is up and another day down - but what makes people think that it will completely fail?
In early February, when Bitcoin plummeted to $ 6,000 , the president of Roubini Macro Associates, Nouriel Roubini - also c known as "Dr. Doom" for his pessimistic economic prospects - he made a bold statement:
As expected Bitcoin now crashes below $ 6000. Now the $ 5K handle is reached. And the US Congressional Hearing on Crypto-Scams is still a day away. HODL nuts will hold their melting Bitcoins all the way down to ZERO while scammers and whales dump and run ...
- Nouriel Roubini (@Nouriel) February 6, 2018
"As expected, Bitcoin now falls below $ 6,000. Now it reaches $ 5K. And the United States Congress Hearing on crypto-staphs is still a day away from taking place. HODL fools will keep their Bitcoins melting until ZERO, while scammers and whales download and run ... "
Dr. Doom had some backing at this low point for Bitcoin while Joe Davis - Vanguard Global Chief Economist and the head of his group of investment strategies- intervened. He wrote in a blog post :
"I see a decent probability that its price will reach zero."
He also said he is optimistic about blockchain, however. But this separation of Blockchain and Bitcoin by investors and institutionalized monetary agents is flawed, and was mistakenly brought to the table again and again as' blockchain on Bitcoin '
Goldman Sachs has also given its opinion on cryptocurrencies and the possibility that they will reach zero, but with the warning that the largest - and therefore the strongest - will evolve and survive. The head of investment research, Steve Strongin said :
"I think it is unlikely that any of today's cryptocurrencies will survive in the long term, although some of them can evolve and survive, because of the lack of intrinsic value, the coins that do not survive are likely to be marketed to zero."
The reasons given by these men for Bitcoin to reach zero - or, in the case of Strongin, other cryptocurrencies - range from market manipulation until bubbles of assets and the lack of intrinsic values . All these cases and reasons, however, begin to feel a little outdated.
The fast world of the cryptocurrency has overcome a series of drawdowns, especially the comparison with the Tulips, which is one of the Joe Davis's favorite comparisons . In recent months, even with the market so low, there has been a great wave of adoption in the use of blockchain, as well as cryptocurrency.
The blockchain revolution
While Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are a financial and monetary phenomenon, they are also classified as a technological advance, thanks to the underlying blockchain technology. This means that there is an adoption wave that can take place in different sectors that can use blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
The adoption that has happened recently has been seen at the top level in some sectors, namely banks , big enterprises and even governments .
Great moves have been made by some important global banks to try to obtain a crypto-negotiation service that your clients can use , and that can be participants in the offer and operation. The banks are looking to jump into the crypto currency because the demand from customers is very high.
Farzam Ehsani, a former Blockchain leader at Rand Merchant Bank, now co-founder and CEO of VALR, told Cointelegraph:
"All the banks are realizing that they need to get on this blockchain boat, I do not think many banks necessarily understand where the boat is going, but they realize that this is a development that is taking off and, if they want to be On this trip that everyone is doing, they have to be on the boat. "
In addition, companies in the scale of Microsoft, Amazon, IBM and Oracle they are also competing to start offering blockchain customer-oriented solutions - often linked to cryptocurrencies - to be the first to market with an effective and revolutionary product.
Finally, governments, which are often the bailout of Bitcoin and the adoption of cryptocurrencies, are beginning to appear, and the Dutch government is a good example of how this is happening. Last month, it was reported that the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy had created a unit responsible for investigating the future blockchain development through technology .
So what does all this mean for Bitcoin and the idea that it can reach zero?
Much of this depends on the belief that cryptocurrencies and blockchains can be separated. There is a big push for the adoption of blockchain - as described above - but the same can not be said for the adoption of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
However, the argument is that the two are definitely linked. Those who are outside the space of the blockchain and the cryptocurrency argue that the two facets can not be separated, and therefore, if there is an adoption in blockchain, there must be a correlation of benefit with the space of the cryptocurrency.
With so many faculties as large and dominant as global banks, large corporations and even governments, entering the space of the block chain, it would seem difficult to see them continue without the appearance of cryptocurrencies.
The CEO of Lightning Labs -the developer of the Blockchain scale Lightning protocol- Elizabeth Stark has spoken out to challenge Wall Street and the traditional narrative of the financial sector that puts its faith in blockchain, not in Bitcoin, by trying to separate two so clearly.
"When we first launched my company Lightning Labs, in fact we took the word 'Bitcoin' from our deck and our marketing material because it was so much blockchain, now I feel we have entered a 'Bitcoin, no blockchain' world, where people understand the value of cryptocurrency technology and what they can bring in. You also have proof of Bitcoin work, you have public / private key cryptography, there are other things that make Bitcoin special. Blockchain part separated and became one thing. "
Customizable cryptocurrency
Emin Gün Sirer , an associate professor at Cornell University, shared some light on the strength of cryptocurrencies with Cointelegraph and how difficult it is for them to disappear completely.
"We have seen that these technologies are quite robust, the chains do not simply disappear, they are resistant and they stay, many of us spent years proselytizing for these technologies in general and Bitcoin in particular, as a result, they had immense goodwill and brand recognition. all around, then there will always be a community around the brand that will ensure that this chain moves forward. "
Gün Sirer's point - on Bitcoin in particular - is in some way linked to blockchain technology and where it is now. The adoption of Bitcoin and Blockchain has almost reached a critical mass, where it is difficult to suddenly lose total support.
The Bitcoin brand has exploded recently, and there is evidence to support its popularity and how important its popularity is for its growth and survival.
There is a correlation between Google's search trends for Bitcoin and the Bitcoin price, which shows that a higher interest and popularity of the currency is intrinsically linked to its price, and therefore, in many respects, its success.
This has been noticed before in what is called a 'Satoshi cycle'
However, Gün Sirer adds:
"They may have to work hard to inspire new life after a spiral of chain death, and could serve a niche function, since their means of transfer and value storage functionality have been usurped by others. even so, I suspect there will always be a Bitcoin brand and a niche community about it. "
Intrinsically unstoppable
Although its adoption continues to grow and consolidates as a technology and a financial system in daily life, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies-as well as blockchain-become increasingly difficult to overcome.
But even more than that, now that it is being established, it also shows that it is harder to kill than, say, an action, a technological fad or innumerable comparisons that can die.
Many will compare Bitcoin with a company or stock, which can go to zero, as a reason for not investing in it. However, Bitcoin is decentralized and autonomous. There is not a single man, group or board that can execute it in the field.
On that same note, it is also impossible to stop it -as the regulators are discovering. As well as China and others who try to ban Bitcoin directly, they are discovering that they are not fighting against anything tangible .
But Bitcoin is also adept at evolving and adapting - again, depending on its intrinsic values. It is governed by a majority vote and, as things change and challenge it, the community chooses a path that is best for its survival. There may be battles and ' civil wars 'on the road, but ultimately, the Bitcoin advances are for your survival.
Finally, even the biggest detractors of Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency space find it difficult to criticize the potential of blockchain technology. Some like to try and differentiate the cryptocurrency from the blockchain, but they are wrong in that sense.
Jehan Chu, co-founder of Kenetic Capital -a company that works to spread the adoption of blockchain technology- also believes that this new system is something that is solving the problems of the past. Chu told Cointelegraph:
"Bitcoin will never reach zero because it is a protection against falling currencies, inefficient economies and increasingly systemic inequality, Bitcoin represents the currency of a better future for society, and people will always invest in their future."
Too many parties invested
Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, all these interconnected parts are spreading slowly through society in all different ecosystems. And, as they become entrenched, their own composition means that they are difficult to eliminate.
The regulators have tried, and they have also realized that they can not completely expel the cryptocurrencies, so now they try to work with them. This has opened the door for traditional sectors of the world to enter the market and make cryptocurrencies more part of everyday life.
This system of decentralized, adaptive, autonomous and democratic money has too many parties created and too many strong characteristics, so it is difficult to eliminate it totally in its current form.