On 31st October 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto published the world-changing whitepaper ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’, and with it launched Bitcoin to the world.
To celebrate its 10th birthday, the CoinCorner team has shared its predictions for the cryptocurrency over the next 10 years.
- Bitcoin will be the dominant cryptocurrency with a 90% market share.
- Bitcoin will be used for streaming money – Instead of paying per month for streaming services like Netflix, you could pay per second for each film you actually watch.
- Bitcoin will be worth $100,000+
- Bitcoin will become a commonly used store of value for people in developing countries – It has the potential to be used by countries with struggling and unstable currencies. For example, Venezuela’s economy is currently suffering from hyperinflation and would benefit from the introduction of cryptocurrencies as they offer a more stable alternative to their fiat currency. It makes sense for both retailers and consumers to deal in decentralised cryptocurrencies in order to protect the value of the country’s money.
- John McAfee won’t eat his… you know what on national television – McAfee has previously stated that Bitcoin will reach $1 million by the end of 2020 and if he’s wrong, he will eat his… you know what… on national television. As much as we would all love this prediction to come true, it’s unlikely that Bitcoin will hit $1 million so soon.
- A 51% attack will be attempted… but Bitcoin will continue as normal and survive! – Bitcoin is currently one of, if not the longest running system to maintain a 100% uptime – a claim that not even Google can boast. It is always under attack from people trying to break or hack it, but these are only making it stronger and stronger.
- The creator of Bitcoin will still be unknown – Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, has never been identified and over the past 10 years this has definitely worked in the favour of Bitcoin. With no one person as “the face” of Bitcoin, this makes it truly decentralised, unlike other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, which have a founder.
- Bitcoin will be a reserve currency for the world – Much like the USD is a reserve currency in parts of the world, we believe Bitcoin will slowly progress to become a world currency in some form or another.
- Bitcoin will be used to manipulate and control human behaviour in previously unforeseen ways – An example may be that people may receive automatic payments from the government every time they exercise in order to keep NHS costs down by keeping society fit and healthy.
- Bitcoin will become part of the education system – Similar in the way that IT was not taught in schools 30 years ago, we think Bitcoin will become part of the education system in schools around the globe. It may sit across a multitude of subjects rather than one area, so for example, children may be taught about Bitcoin in Economics, IT, Computer Science, Maths and even History.
Danny Scott, Co-founder of CoinCorner, comments: “Having been involved in the Bitcoin space since 2013, I believe that Bitcoin is the most groundbreaking technological innovation since the internet. Just like the internet, it will take time for Bitcoin to mature and become “mainstream”. 30 years ago the internet was only used by the techies and geeks – now it affects our lives every single day, having changed the way we communicate, work and live.”
“We predict that Bitcoin will one day be as influential in everyday life for people around the world, not only from a financial aspect, but through the products that will be built on top and around the technology.”
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.