The first time you hear about Bitcoin is usually through a friend or acquaintance who can't stop singing praise about it or through a news article about how rapidly the price of a Bitcoin has risen or fallen.
When I first heard about it and started digging more about it, I felt like entering a Rabbit's hole. The more I read the more intrigued and fascinated I was. It was a world of contrasts with some people claiming it to be a technological miracle which was poised to be the next big thing. Some are convinced it will be worth more than a million dollars soon, and on the other hand there are people who consider it a bubble or scan and are sure it is on the verge of collapse.
If you go by what it's creator Satoshi Nakamoto had in mind, it is a digital currency built upon blockchain model which simple put is decentralized as it uses a peer to peer network as opposed to centralized models of other currencies which are controlled by central banks or government authorities.
His main motive for coming up with Bitcoin was disillusionment with global economies following the market crash of 2007-08 due to the sub-prime crises triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers and bailout of several prominent banks to prevent them from an imminent collapse.
His vision was to create a global currency which will be free from government control and manipulations. It will be stable and it's supply fixed at a max of 21 million so it will be immune to problems like inflation. He thought of a currency which can be accessed by everyone with an internet connection whether through a computer or mobile. This will be revolutionary for billions of people who still don't have access to banks. It makes international transfer of money instantly at a minimal processing fee.
This however does not go down well with governments and banks. Once this becomes widely accepted it will make banks redundant - partially or completely depending on degree of adoption. It's also giving headaches to governments as they rely heavily on the tax collected from residents but with blockchain they will have no control over where is the money getting transferred and who is paying who.
This is a reason why after 10 years of it's creation it is still out of reach of a third of global population living in India and China as both the governments have currently put it on ban. That's ironical as these are the poor people Bitcoin was supposed to help as opposed to the wealthy market manipulators in USA and Europe who seem to be manipulating the crytocurrencies currently for their personal gains.
How will the future shape up for Bitcoin- whether it will become the standard global currency accessible to everyone, or be an exclusive asset for the developed world of fade out completely.. only time will tell!!
