- Details
As Bitcoin becomes more popular among emerging and developed markets, crypto enthusiasts hope for adoption in the near future. El Salvador, the UAE, and Singapore are leaders in supporting pro-Bitcoin policies. In contrast, the global powers of the EU and the USA are becoming the cornerstone of crypto regulations through innovation hubs.
Therefore, many citizens and institutions in various countries are actively using cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin since it’s the leading top cryptocurrency and poised to remain so. India’s large, tech-savvy population, China’s strong mining ecosystem, and Brazil’s favorable tech innovation environment support every kind of investor, from beginners converting Bitcoin to USD to institutions expanding their target audience.
However, some countries and communities are left behind, showing resistance to change through restrictions or heavy taxation. This might happen due to myths well-rooted in people’s mindsets, so let’s discover some of them and debunk their sources.
Bitcoin has no value
As a digital currency that’s not tangible, many believe Bitcoin is useless. The belief can be attributed to the limited number of companies accepting Bitcoin payments, but this is slowly changing as more vendors introduce the cryptocurrency as a payment option for the growing community of crypto investors.
At the same time, the fact that Bitcoin isn’t supported by a bank or a conformist financial industry makes people doubt its sustainability. Explaining what sustains Bitcoin can help people understand the power of communities that collaborate, which is a key aspect of cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin has real-world value, as evidenced by its history with institutional investors. For example, Tesla or Square have bought considerable amounts of BTC to manage their portfolios more efficiently in the light of financial challenges.
Bitcoin will be overthrown by competition
Bitcoin may compete with altcoins in terms of transaction speed and affordability, but it has led the market since 2009, a period during which the ecosystem has considerably expanded. The cryptocurrency’s resilience in challenging markets has made it stronger against price fluctuations, so BTC is actually the safest crypto investment at the moment.
Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency that experts recommend for both beginners and professionals, especially since it accounts for more than half of the market. Bitcoin’s power is currently challenging to overthrow, even by Ethereum or other rising coins in terms of price, stability, and popularity.
Moreover, Bitcoin can always improve an upgrade if 51% of the community supports the initiation of a fork. An example of such a movement is the Segregated Witness (SegWit) update, which was initiated by the community to prevent mistakes in sending money on the blockchain and improve transaction speeds.
Bitcoin lacks user safety
Bitcoin, like all other cryptocurrencies, lives on blockchain networks, which are almost impossible to hack. Bitcoin is considered “hack-proof” due to its cryptographic hash function, which secures the ecosystem and prevents 51% attacks from occurring. These risks are possible in theory, but they would require attackers to take control of more than half of the computing power and manipulate transactions.
The attack would require enormous investments in mining equipment as the network continues to grow each year, with worldwide users protecting it through mining and daily usage. At the same time, features of decentralization, computing, and high-performance mining prevent mistakes from happening.
Instead, users can be hacked if they’re not paying attention to what exchanges they use or how they manage their money in digital wallets. Phishing and malware attacks are possible when targeting users’ wallets.
Bitcoin is similar to gambling
Many believe that Bitcoin is akin to gambling due to its mechanism and requirements. Indeed, investing in cryptocurrency comes at a small cost, but so does investing in the stock market, and the two industries are quite similar. Investing in cryptocurrency is complex and requires strategies and critical thinking, which is why it’s often underestimated.
BTC, as well as other cryptocurrency investments, have shown significant performance in the financial sector due to continuous improvements and advancements in technology. On the other hand, gambling is about the odds and unpredictable trends.
While people may be led to believe that they can get rich with Bitcoin, the truth is that the only method of gaining a financial advantage from it is to practice patience and upgrade your skills as an investor or trader.
If Bitcoin is so successful, what’s the role of altcoins?
Altcoins refer to any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. Their role is to provide users with fast and cheap transactions, and they started when Bitcoin encountered network congestion issues that made transaction fees considerably expensive and slow.
Developers who created altcoins, such as Ethereum, had in mind a coin similar to Bitcoin that could extend to other features, including decentralized apps (dApps), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), or NFTs (non-fungible tokens).
In other words, if Bitcoin is a reliable store of value, altcoins offer investors a way to diversify their portfolios and explore additional digital assets to gain exposure to the growing market. Therefore, their competition is beneficial for users.
Why use Bitcoin then if altcoins are better?
In investment, there’s no singular perfect asset that could provide users the ultimate value. Therefore, each user must build their own portfolio based on their risk profile and future goals.
This means they must balance their portfolios with safe assets, such as Bitcoin, and emerging ones, like altcoins. Additionally, experts also invest in riskier assets, like meme coins.
Certain mixtures of these assets can ensure investors either a safe but slow progress in the crypto industry or a fast, profitable, but dangerous path. However, suppose their level of knowledge and experience allows them to do so. In that case, crypto investors can be as adventurous as possible as long as they’re aware of the volatility and risks associated with these assets.
Final thoughts
Bitcoin is on the verge of becoming the first digital and decentralized asset to be widely adopted by governments and financial institutions globally. As a store of value coin, BTC is a leader in the market, but many misconceptions about it may lead people to undervalue it. Myths associated with its lack of value, security, and competitiveness can deter those interested, but through proper research, they can be debunked.