Since it’s all the rage right now, I’d like to announce that I’m launching my own cryptocurrency next week.
Let’s call it “kingcoin”.
No, that’s too selfish.
How about “muttcoin”? I’ve always had a soft spot for mixed race people.
Yes, that’s perfect – everyone loves dogs.
This is going to be the biggest thing since fidget spinners.
Well done! Everyone reading this will get one muttcoin when my new coin launches next week.
I will distribute 1 million muttcoins evenly. Feel free to spend them wherever you want (or wherever someone accepts them!).
What is that? The cashier at Target said they won’t accept our muttcoin?
Tell those who doubt that muttcoin has a scarcity value – there will only ever be 1 million muttcoins. On top of that, it’s supported by the full faith and credit of my desktop’s 8GB of RAM.
Also, remind them that ten years ago bitcoin could not even buy you a box of chewing gum. Now one bitcoin can buy a lifetime supply.
And, like bitcoin, you can safely store muttcoin offline away from hackers and thieves.
It is basically an exact replica of bitcoin’s properties. Muttcoin has a decentralized ledger with unbreakable cryptography, and all transactions are immutable.
Still not convinced that our muttcoins will be worth billions in the future?
Well, it’s understandable. The fact is that launching a new cryptocurrency is much more difficult than it seems, if not completely impossible.
That’s why I believe bitcoin has reached these heights against all odds. And because of its unique customer network, it will continue to do so.
Of course, there were setbacks. But each of those failures ultimately resulted in higher prices. The recent 60% drop will be no different.
The Bitcoin Miracle
Bitcoin’s success rests on its ability to create a global network of users willing to transact with it now or store it for later. Future prices will be determined by the pace at which the network grows.
Even in the face of wild price swings, bitcoin adoption continues to grow at an exponential rate. There are now 23 million wallets open globally chasing 21 million bitcoins. In a few years, the number of wallets could grow to include 5 billion people on the planet connected to the Internet.
Sometimes the motivation of new crypto-converts was speculative; other times they looked for a store of value away from their own domestic currency. In the past year, new apps like Coinbase have made it even easier to onboard new users.
If you haven’t noticed, when people buy bitcoin, they talk about it. We all have that friend who bought bitcoin and then wouldn’t shut up about it. Yes, I’m guilty of this – and I’m sure plenty of readers are too.
Perhaps subconsciously, owners become crypto-evangelists because convincing others to buy serves their own self-interest in increasing the value of their holdings.
Bitcoin evangelism – spreading the good word – is what miraculously caused the price to rise from $0.001 to a recent price of $10,000.
Who could have imagined that its pseudonymous creator, fed up with the global banking oligopoly, launched an intangible digital resource that in less than a decade rivaled the value of the world’s largest currencies?
No religion, political movement or technology has ever witnessed these growth rates. Then again, humanity has never been so connected.
The idea of money
Bitcoin started as an idea. To be clear, all money – whether it was the fake money used by primitive islanders, gold bullion, or the US dollar – began as an idea. The idea is that a network of users value it equally and would be willing to share something of equal value for your form of money.
Money has no intrinsic value; its value is purely external – only what others think it is worth.
Look at the dollar in your pocket – it’s just a fancy piece of paper with a one-eyed pyramid, drawn portraits and signatures of important people.
To be useful, society must view it as a unit of account, and merchants must be willing to accept it as payment for goods and services.
Bitcoin has shown an incredible ability to reach and connect a network of millions of users.
One bitcoin is only worth what the next person is willing to pay for it. But if the web continues to expand at an exponential rate, limited supply means that prices can only move in one direction… more.
The bottom line
Bitcoin’s nine-year rise has been marked by massive bouts of volatility. There was an 85% correction in January 2015 and several others over 60%, including a colossal 93% decline in 2011.
Through each of these corrections, however, the network (as measured by the number of wallets) continued to expand at a rapid rate. While some speculators saw their value decimated, new margin investors saw value and became buyers.
Abnormal levels of volatility actually helped the bitcoin network grow to 23 million users.
Hey, maybe we just need some muttcoin price volatility to attract new users…