(2 weeks old article, in the future maybe we will laugh at it)
Bitcoin reached a new record, one Bitcoin is now worth more than 7000 USD. Despite the fact that hard times wait for Bitcoin in the near future, it is going to divide again. Technically spoken, hard fork is going to happen. It is known already for few months that on the November the 16., the size of the block will grow from 1MB to 2MB. The problem is, how many people are there behind this protocol adjustment. In fact, more and more key-figures of the community stands for the unadjusted version of Bitcoin. Nevertheless, everything may change the days before and after the fork.
Speculations about this push the Bitcoin price higher but the overcome of the 7000 USD limit was caused by the statement made by CME group, which is one of the worlds biggest derivatives trading market. Next year, CME group wants to enable the trading with Bitcoin derivatives. Furthermore, the Korean market where arbitration took place due to the Bitcoin price of 200 USD higher than on the other leading markets contributed to the Bitcoin price increase.
A conference of another cryptocurrency has taken place recently, conference Devcon of Ethereum. The main developer of Ethereum introduced new visions and intentions. It is important to say that Ethereum, the cryptocurrency of the probably second richest developer in the cryptoworld, went through hard times too. It had to be divided due to the faulty protocol, by which hackers enriched theirselves. Back then, the cryptocurrency divided into the modified Ethereum and the original Ethereum classic. Despite the fork, Ethereum is still the second strongest cryptocurrency in the world. By my personal opinion, the third division of Bitcoin will not cause anything dangerous, however it is the most important of the three. Futures of the new cryptocurrency are being traded for ca. 1000 USD, which is a lot more than Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold were traded at the beginning.
On the other hand, it needs to be underlined that Ethereum is determined to another purpose completely. Ethereum is more like a platform for new apps based on the Blockchain – decentralized system. There are only a few places where it is possible to pay by Ethereum. Contrariwise, Bitcoin serves mainly as money, obviously being the first cryptocurrency it also gains from the original thought of the decentralized currency. Personally, I am a bit skeptical towards the Bitcoin and more in favour of the alternative currencies. Here are the reasons: expensive charges, slow transactions (still quicker than in ordinary banking world) and the endless politicization of the developers. So should Bitcoin be a transaction currency or a commodity equivalent? The dispute remains undecided for months. Alternative currencies are more flexible, cheaper and the developers are able to make a deal quicker. However, Bitcoin is definitely a safe harbour between the cryptocurrencies because of the fact that alternative cryptocurrencies, despite the well-sounding parameters, are not used routinely and their future is uncertain.
Last year, a great advancement concerning cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, could have been seen. All in all, cryptocurrencies are just sexi. You can hear of them in bars, on the news and new projects appear. The pity is the people just want to get rich quickly. They do not ask what is it, how does it work but how much and where to invest money. On the social media they share the increasing graphs and green numbers. Luckily, also a part of community exist which works on the development and will eventually bring new apps or platforms. Those will make the life of an ordinary person better after all. At the moment, we just have to explain what Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are and that they hide more than just green numbers.