Blockchain News the current reality is still one where cryptocurrencies are traded on unregulated exchanges and P2P platforms . Is some kind of regulation necessary for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies to be considered truly mainstream ? Conventional bank accounts are FDIC insured which gives their users a reasonable level of confidence that their deposited funds will stay safe . Bitcoin and cryptocurrency wallets are not .
If government institutions are not or cannot regulate cryptocurrencies , then how or why should they insure them ? A lot of questions , particularly about how to apply a legal framework to cryptos , remain unanswered .
Bitfinex , one of largest Bitcoin exchanges , has reportedly been hacked on multiple occasions . The estimated loss was in the tens of millions of dollars . What might be equally as concerning is that we know very little about Bitfinex . One of the few things we do know is that it ’ s incorporated in the British Virgin Islands . US regulators have even fined Bitfinex for not following certain registration policies in the past .
Despite these issues , traders and investors continue to use Bitfinex and other bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges . In fact , Bitfinex is ranked second , right behind Bithumb , in terms of 24-hour trading volume which runs into billions of dollars . Furthermore , the value and the market capitalization of bitcoin and cryptocurrency continues to rise faster than ever .
Even after the latest cryptocurrency price rallies , especially in 2017 , many people still do not understand these complex digital currencies and the blockchain that they ’ re based on because of their highly technical nature . Perhaps this is why many people also fall victim to fake news or the misinformation propaganda . For example , in June of 2017 , it was falsely reported that Vitalik Buterin , founder of Ethereum , had died in a car crash . The circulation of this fake news may have caused the market value of Ethereum to fall by approximately $ 4 billion .
When any technology or industry is in the process of “ making it big ” or going mainstream , there will always be people and organizations trying to bring it down because they might perceive it as a threat .
JPMorgan CEO , Jamie Dimon called bitcoin a fraud and a bubble similar to the Dutch tulip bubble . In spite of these types of comments from public figures in the financial sector , blockchain technology seems to have the potential to disrupt a number of well-established industries . For instance , it seems that it might now become possible to dabble in real estate using a blockchain .
Overstock . com , a billion-dollar online retailer , has been accepting bitcoin as payment for several years now . When reputable and well-established companies start embracing cryptocurrencies , it ’ s a sign that they might be on their way to going mainstream . Even Bank of America seems to be joining the bitcoin and cryptocurrency world by developing a cryptocurrency exchange system . There appears to be significant potential for bitcoin and cryptocurrency to go mainstream .
Omar Faridi omar @ coregroup . info
Core Magazine 33