Those of us who invest in Bitcoin all have different goals. Some of us are in it for technology and how it could change the world. Others are here for the profits; hoping to change our lives financially forever. Whichever group you fall into, we all have one question that we are wanting to know
When will Bitcoin finally go mainstream?
While it has made giant strides in recent years and is approaching that market. We still haven’t reached it. When Bitcoin finally does go mainstream and is fully adopted, that is when Bitcoin will finally change how the world handles money forever. But at the same time, that also means that the price of Bitcoin will have likely appreciated to a point where many of us who have been HODLing for years, will become very well off financially. Both of these groups will be satisfied. So when will Bitcoin actually become fully adopted and go mainstream? There are 3 possible scenarios.
It Won’t.
In the world of investing, and especially with an asset as risky and volatile as Bitcoin. It’s crucial to always keep an open mind and think about every possible scenario. While many of us have fallen down the Bitcoin rabbit hole and believe it’s the future. We also must admit that Bitcoin succeeding would be a miracle. It could be more likely that its end goal is never realized. Instead, it could be destined to move sideways, and eventually become forgotten.
Perhaps if left alone, it could have achieved its end goal. But, the US government has suddenly woken up to how large of a threat it actually is. And they have come out fighting. Not only with regulations but trying to take away on/off ramps. But also attacking the public image that people have in Bitcoin. They are trying to destroy the interest or enthusiasm in this market, and they might just succeed.
Slowly
The next scenario is that Bitcoin adoption will continue going mainstream slowly as it currently has. Up until now, besides using Bitcoin as an investment speculation, there hasn’t been a real need for it. Because of that, people have been slow to understand the real need for it, or why it is so important.
This often results in people not understanding it the first, second, or even third time they hear about Bitcoin. It takes several interactions for them to finally get it. This is the path that we have been on since Bitcoin’s creation. There will continue to be 4 cycles led by the Bitcoin halving that consist of both a bull and bear market. Prices going parabolic will cause a stampede rush of adoption to the market. Yet, the bear market will once again cause a max exodus of people leaving the market. With the market adoption moving slowly, we will continue to fight against FUD, macro events, regulations, and more while we slowly become stronger. Taking 3 steps forward in progress, and then 2 steps back each time.
Suddenly
Finally, the last scenario is suddenly. When people talk about hyperbitcoinization becoming a reality, this is the scenario that they are talking about. That Bitcoin would essentially take over the monetary world in a very short period of time. Until recently, many people wrote this story off as a folktale told between Bitcoin maxis. But due to recent events that has begun to change.
The first domino to fall was the Covid outbreak. Money printing went out of control, inflation skyrocketed, and people began to lose trust in governments. Then this year banks around the world started collapsing. Once again causing people to lose trust in the traditional monetary system. During this time Bitcoin’s price rose when all other assets were dropping. Perhaps people were finally waking up to its real value. As the First Republic Bank is added to the list of banks collapsing, this could still be the early stages of what will eventually come. The government will be forced to bail out banks, unprecedented money printing will occur, and inflation will soar even further. People’s wealth will either be frozen in banks or lose value due to printing.
Finally, people in the Western world are realizing Bitcoin’s real value, and have a need for it. This could be the moment where adoption changes from slowly, to suddenly. With that said, this might not be as great of a scenario as many of us hope for. While those of us who have invested in Bitcoin over the years will do very well. Our friends and family who didn’t will suffer the consequences.
As for me, I used to always believe that Bitcoin’s adoption would be a slow process. That is why I have always stressed the importance of having a long-term timeframe. But, there is also no denying that everything seems to be lining up in a perfect storm for Bitcoin adoption to happen suddenly. The next few months and years will be very interesting to watch.
How about you? Which scenario do you think will happen?
Follow me on Twitter
https://twitter.com/johnwege
Read my articles first on
Medium
https://medium.com/@johnwege
or
Substack
https://johnwege.substack.com
As always, thank you for reading!