First, on October 31st in 2018 will be exactly 10 years since the whitepaper was published. And then on January 3rd in 2019 will be 10 years since the genesis block was mined. My prediction is that the value of BTC will climb between and shortly after these two dates. Because a lot of media outlets will be talking about Bitcoin during it's 10th Birthday, they do it every year, but this time it's a major milestone. That will bring public interest and new investors to the exchanges.
I recently read that nearly 4 out of 5 Americans have already heard about Bitcoins, but about half of them are unsure if Bitcoins are legal to own. Somewhere around 14% of Americans have owned BTC at some point, and approximately 40% are open to the idea of using Bitcoins in the future. If we do the math there then we see it's pretty evenly split between people who want to use Bitcoins, and people who are afraid that Bitcoins might be illegal.
But the thing is: Bitcoins are not illegal. The only thing holding people back from using it is misinformation. And misinformation can't last under scrutiny. What I'm trying to say is that a lot more people will want to use Bitcoins soon enough.
I like to compare Bitcoins to DVD players because they both have a similar adoption rate (even though DVD players never faced as much FUD and controversy as Bitcoins have). It took about 10 years for DVDs to replace VHS, and all during that time people argued the pros and cons of DVDs. But after the first 10 years, people just sort of accepted that DVD players were the new normal. I think that same psychology will apply with Bitcoins as well. After 10 years, it's no longer just a fad. That 10 year mark is coming up very soon.
So, how will you celebrate Bitcoin's 10th birthday? I would love to go trick or treating as Satoshi Nakamoto but I have no idea what he or she looks like. What are your ideas or suggestions?