Many people are currently bashing the potential of Bitcoin and the crypto industry as a whole. Some of them are prominent investors with lots of influence, like Peter Schiff among others. On the contrary, we see many financial analysts, investors, entrepreneurs and even politicians buy Bitcoin, claiming it to be the next big store of value.
What is true? And why are the opinions so divided in the space? In this article we take a deeper approach and try to analyze which factors lead to the belief that Bitcoin will or will not succeed in the future. After reading this post you will have a more objective understanding of Bitcoin’s direction and you will know what motivates each party. Let’s delve in.
Bitcoin maximalists
Bitcoin maximalists are those that believe in Bitcoin’s future. The people that preach Bitcoin to family and friends, spend countless hours analyzing the project’s potential and are mostly optimistic even in negative market conditions. Bitcoin maximalists are usually incentivized to care, which could explain why they show such interest in the coin even when the market proves them otherwise. They don’t usually care about the price of ETH, LTC, or other smaller cryptocurrencies.
Over the past few years, we have seen the number of BTC maximalists massively increase, as there is now more concrete information that our current financial system is failing to accommodate the demands of society. It is also visible through the coin’s price. The more economic instabilities we experience, the higher the coin’s price goes.
Bitcoin haters & those who simply don’t care
Bitcoin haters are usually investors with a very strong opinion about a different store of value, like precious metals, and dislike the fact that an intangible asset has grown so much over the past few years. According to them, it is risky, unregulated, and highly speculative. While they are not necessarily wrong, they fail to see the big picture intentionally, as their ego keeps them in the same thinking patterns. We cannot sympathize with them, and they are not willing to take a step back and look at things objectively.
Those who simply don’t care are the grand majority of consumers. The middle class. As a society, we only place our attention and effort on something that will offer something in return. Bitcoin maximalists get this through the appreciating price of the cryptocurrency. Those who don’t invest, however, don’t see the point in doing research. They are not incentivized to care. And this is possibly one of the biggest challenges that need an answer from those building the future of crypto. It is far more likely to help the ignorant part of the public become optimistic towards BTC than it is to turn them into haters.
Overall, BTC haters are those who feel threatened by the evolution of technology or simply don’t understand it properly. The ignorant population is neither pro or against Bitcoin and chooses to not interact with it as long as they are not incentivized to do so.
Why are opinions so divided?
For one, we are still at a price discovery phase. While Bitcoin may have proven its potential as a store of value, the industry as a whole is still very immature to be taken seriously. Compared to the $10 trillion market cap of gold, Bitcoin’s mere $0,5 trillion seems like the start of something yet uncertain.
The public as a whole is massively uneducated when it comes to technological progress and adaptation. They are also unaware of the issues we are currently facing in our financial system. As a result, they are unable to understand Bitcoin, even if they choose to interact with it.
To make things even worse, the majority of the public still doesn’t understand how inflation works. This would be the first step towards a better understanding of what makes Bitcoin so valuable. At the same time, it would help those that have been “hurt” through their Bitcoin investments to reconsider their position and welcome the democratic revolution that it aims to lead quietly.
So where is it that we’re headed towards?
We are currently going through the second massive lockdown on a global scale. Stimulus checks will probably continue getting printed while the media will continue to indicate the futile efforts of global governments to improve the situation. Eventually, the public will turn into alternative stores of value to protect their wealth. And the options with the most potential are Bitcoin and precious metals.
While precious metals are a staple and one of the most “proven” stores of value, they are bulky, hard to use and transfer, as well as often faked. Bitcoin solves all of this. This is why we believe that this next wave of investors will choose Bitcoin as their primary store of value, bringing it to its full glory.
