The price of Bitcoin doesn’t matter.
The sentiment is well known in the Bitcoin community. A statement like this can’t fail to confuse newcomers who have been part of the fiat currency experiment. Combined with posts detailing “Wow look at that low price, great time to buy!” especially as the price continues to tumble and rumble. Many coiners who bought in at $600+ felt the sting in the last 12 months as the price slowly tumbled. Steady hands prevail in the long run, but for others who bought in they can feel gamed by Bitcoin experiment at this point in time. Anyone who has spent time in Bitcoin for more than a year just laugh at these folks.
Firstly, one must understand the political climate of the $1200 price we saw last year on Gox and other exchanges. This volume was driven by buying pressure from china and created from nothing but Mt.Gox’s high value. Now Gox widely known as one of the biggest, “involuntary wealth transfers” from private individuals into one latte-loving moron. You might have different conceptions involving hackers or the US government, but for now I personally blame Mark, as do most coiners. Despite the crumbling of the pillar of Bitcoin known as Gox, Bitcoin still continues to flow and have value to other people.
So why is the price a non-issue for most coiners? It’s a point of interest, definitely. To an extent it can change how we spend our coins, but no matter what the price is…Bitcoin remains useful. Honey Badger Bitcoin don’t give a fuck.
Why and how is this achieved? What gives Bitcoin this inherent usefulness that your grandchildren and their techie friends keep raving about it?
There are only ever going to be 21 million Bitcoins. Ever. In the history of the world there will never be a 21 million and first coin. The difficulty of Bitcoin rises over time and each Bitcoin becomes more costly to produce. Combine this eventual limited availability with a population of 7 billion people and an increasingly expensive means of production. The output is a good that is likely to hold and gain value on a long enough time line.
Most hardcore coiners in my personal experience don’t expect to become millionaires overnight. Coin enthusiasts understand/believe that they are getting a piece of something larger and no matter where the price is today, most people view it being above $10,000 on a long enough time graph.
No matter what the cost of one Bitcoin is, it still can be sent around the world instantly to a receiving party. This is done with minimal fees and minimal resistance. There are no banking entities in the middle or in the receiving party unless you’re using a service that must adhere to the law such as Coinbase, Bitstamp, etc. Even so, the money still moves internationally in an hour or less with little cost. These transactions are sent with a cryptographic proof of work which brings me into the next point.
Wherever the funds originate from, the generated transaction is seen as a cryptographically infallible proof of key ownership. It can be used for identification and record keeping extensively. The abilities of the Blockchain have only been under-exaggerated and we’re going to come into more uses as time goes on. I look forward to seeing a government budget being run on Bitcoin, even if that is a just a wild dream.
The price is irrelevant because by the time Bitcoins are seen as incredibly valuable we will no longer be looking at the price to sell. They will be tokens, colored coins, smart contracts, wills, escrowed funds, and other things yet to be designed. Single satoshis can potentially be used to unlock a door due to the security of the transaction itself acting as a door key. There are already projects talking of using the blockchain for voting, wine counterfeiting, art counterfeiting, budgeting, and governmental transparency.
The price goes up and down it has thrills and chills and it may seem real, for some it is. But for now keep calm and hodl. Spend in small quantities to drive use and show the economy you wish to use Bitcoin. This is an experiment and it will not be concluding for some time. Bitcoin is us and we are Bitcoin. Just enjoy the ride and don’t be greedy.
