Cryptocurrency News Now!: Is Bitcoin Forever?

Saturday, August 4, 2018

Is Bitcoin Forever?

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"In order to make anything a reality, you have to dream about it first."

- Adora Svitak

Happy Saturday! We love to see all of you sharing Blockchain Brew with new subscribers. Ultimately, our mission is to educate and inform those who are interested in cryptocurrencies and we love the support from our community.

Cheers,
Blockchain Brew Team

MARKET

COIN	PRICE	24H

BTC	$7,282.947078	-2.01%

ETH	$411.070174	-0.71%

XRP	$0.43544	-0.91%

BCH	$710.232874	-1.26%

EOS	$7.018461	-1.62%

*Information as of 9:30 AM EST

BIG IDEA

Is Bitcoin Forever?

Conceived in 2009, Bitcoin was the first decentralized digital currency, operating in the absence of a central authority. Bitcoin is not even ten years old yet, but has been resilient to threats, withstanding theft, fraud, price crashes, regulation, and more hurdles. As Bitcoin continues to gain popularity and power, it will face ever growing threats. People lucky enough to buy Bitcoin in its early days have been fortunate to see their net worth multiply. Will newer investors be as fortunate or will Bitcoin cease to exist at some point? The future of the digital currency is very much uncertain.

BIGGEST THREATS TO BTC

Governments & Regulation
- The biggest threat to Bitcoin is without a doubt the power of governments and the potential impact of their regulations
- With control of fiscal and monetary policy governments assume a massive amount of power, centralized authorities may see Bitcoin as a threat to this power and be determined to suppress its potential to disrupt fiat currency
Energy Consumption
- As the price of Bitcoin has grown, so has the amount of energy consumed by miners and this trend will only continue as the difficulty to mine a block increases
- If the Bitcoin network were a country, it would rank as the 41st country by energy consumption
- Bitcoin's energy consumption trend is unsustainable and is already causing a negative impact to the environment
Quantum Computing
- The Bitcoin network is secured by the computing power provided by miners
- It is crucial that the network's mining power is decentralized
- Quantum computers have the potential to have an exponentially higher computing power than a traditional computer, which may allow it to take over control of the Bitcoin network or brute force private keys

HOW BTC CAN ACHIEVE IMMORTALITY

Decentralization
- Bitcoin is decentralized by design, but decentralization should not be scene as binary rather a spectrum
- Quantum computing or mining cartels can threaten the decentralization of the network, it is crucial that the mining stay decentralized
- If you believe in the Bitcoin network and would like to see it last, you should run a Bitcoin node and contribute your computing power to the network
- Bitcoin exchanges is another facet that needs to become more decentralized, Bitcoin is meant to be a peer-to-peer network, but all major exchanges are currently centralized
- Centralized exchanges are vulnerable to government regulations and coins on these centralized exchanges can easily be seized
- You don't truly have ownership of your coins if you leave them on an exchange and you should move your Bitcoins to a wallet that you have the private key to
Adoption
- Bitcoin is extremely complex to understand and difficult to use, especially for the tech illiterate
- The success of Bitcoin is dependent on the ecosystem created around it, it must become easier to buy, spend, and secure
- This will take time, the ecosystem has already grown enormously since the coin was introduced in 2009 and as time goes on there will be more development around Bitcoin, it will become more accessible, more merchants will begin to accept it, and the currency will continue to push towards mass adoption

It is extremely likely that the Bitcoin network will last forever. It is far more uncertain what the value of Bitcoin will be in the distant future. Will it be the new global currency? Will it be the new gold? Will it be a currency only used for illegal activities? Or will it be worthless 'magical internet money'? The fate of Bitcoin lies in its ability to maintain decentralization, become even more decentralized, and for the surrounding ecosystem to grow and allow mass adoption of the currency.

EXCHANGE

Coinbase Custody is Exploring the Addition of 37 New Assets

37 NEW ASSETS

Announced in a blog post yesterday, Coinbase Custody is looking to add 37 new assets to its services
The new assets being considered are a mixture between existing assets such as XRP, NEO, and DOGE as well as forthcoming assets such as Telegram's ICO
Coinbase made sure to clarify that just because an asset is being considered for storage does not mean that it will be added as a product on the Coinbase exchange

BREAKING BARRIERS

Coinbase Custody is breaking down significant barriers by exploring new assets
Currently, Coinbase Custody only offers storage for Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum, however, new assets will open new opportunities for institutions looking to diversify into other altcoins

COVERING ITS A**

After the Bitcoin Cash fiasco about insider trading last year, Coinbase is taking every precaution to make sure it is being fully transparent and acting in good faith

Coinbase Custody clearly exhibited precaution in its blog post writing:

"We are making this announcement internally at Coinbase and to the public at the same time to remain transparent with our customers about support for future assets."

For now, it is unknown when and if the assets will become available to Coinbase Custody customers.

NEWS

NYSE Owner ICE to Offer Bitcoin Exchange, What it Means

BAKKT

Yesterday, the Intercontinental Exchange announced that it will be creating a new company called Bakkt that will offer consumers and institutions the ability to buy, sell, store and spend digital assets
This new platform will utilize Microsoft's cloud solutions to create an "open and regulated" ecosystem
In addition, notable companies such as BCG, Starbucks, Microsoft, and others intend on working with Bakkt to start accepting payments in crypto

CEO of Bakkt Kelly Loeffler commented on Bakkt's vision for the future:

"Bakkt is designed to serve as a scalable on-ramp for institutional, merchant and consumer participation in digital assets by promoting greater efficiency, security and utility. We are collaborating to build an open platform that helps unlock the transformative potential of digital assets across global markets and commerce."

WHAT THIS MEANS

As ICE is an owner of the New York Stock Exchange, another trusted financial institution, this will definitely legitimize the crypto industry
Furthermore, with partners such as Microsoft and Starbucks, Bakkt can bring crypto payment solutions to the mainstream as both companies serve millions of customers
Lastly, Bakkt can offer institutions another path into the realm of cryptocurrencies and thus bring new investment to the $270 billion industry

MORE BREWING

CoinMarketCap Says Data Glitch Boosted Its Crypto Price Numbers
South Korean Crypto Exchange Bithumb to Reopen Withdrawals, Deposits for Nine Cryptos
Ethereum to Acquire Top-Level Domain Name With New Partnership

TODAY IN CRYPTO

DigiByte (DGB)

Bitsten listing

New listing on Bitsten.com, the digital asset exchange.

PROOF | SOURCE

Today in Crypto is powered by coinmarketcal.com

COIN OF THE DAY

Nexty (NTY)
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