The price of a single bitcoin is irrelevant. "A bitcoin" simply a useful accounting distinction. Did you know you can acquire 1/100,000,000 of a bitcoin?
If total valuation of bitcoin grows from $2 billion to $2 trillion (competing with market cap of gold, an incredible feat, but not impossible), then that person who scraped together $1k for "just 5 coins" is now sitting on almost $1 million.
The boats will rise and fall. Bitcoin is young, but has surprising levels of momentum. If not bitcoin, then it's successor. The future is uncertain. Promise and wonder glimmers in the distant horizon.
Poetic
and true. Underappreciated post.
Also, I like the sidenote that, if not bitcoin, then its successor will (probably) succeed. Too many people here forget that.
I don't see why there would be a successor.
If an innovation happens in another crypto that the market demands, surely bitcoin will adapt to include it.
Given the advantage btc has over other cryptos by being the original, I would think there's no way for another to knock it off it's perch.
Tell that to Netscape Navigator. Or maybe its successor, Internet Explorer. Or to
that one's successor, Firefox. Or how about Alta Vista. Remember the grip they had on the search market? No, probably not, but it can be looked up easily. Or how about Myspace. Man, no chance they could ever lose their dominant position as
the social network.
Look, it's a pretty simple concept: I'm not saying Bitcoin
will necessarily superseded, I'm just pointing out it's a possibility. For every market leader who held a monopoly in any kind of field for an indefinite time, there's one who was replaced by a new contender. It's a possibility within cryptocurrencies as well, and you'd be wise to keep your mind open enough to consider such a possibility at least. Doesn't mean you have to dump all your bitcoins right this moment
I don't think that comparing btc to a free piece of software, social network or search engine is really a valid comparison.
In fact, since nothing in history has ever matched btc in terms of utility, it's very difficult to compare it to anything.
I think it would be more poignant to compare it to companies like paypal, WU or Visa, even though btc offers more than these three combined.
Now that they have dominant share of a saturated market, it would be very difficult for some start up to come in and take over the market.
Especially since when one of the companies offers something, the other companies in the sector quickly follow suit ie mastercard paypass => visa paywave
I'm not saying it definitely won't happen, I just think it's highly unlikely considering the head start bitcoin and this community has over the alts.
It would have to offer something that can't be added to bitcoin to be of any real threat.
This is why we see btc at over $200 today and ltc valued more than 100x less.