A simple comparison showing the difference between centralized and decentralized networks.
With influence like this, it’s not hard to think that bitcoin could soon reach mainstream appeal and use; though, there are a few roadblocks, with the biggest being about the technology itself and the scalability of the blocks of data that the blockchain is comprised of. The blockchain can only support a number of transactions at the same time, so there is a limit to popularity at the moment. [7]
Recent events in the past have so far proven, though, that governments have recognized cryptocurrencies and are talking about it. Even Russia’s government are currently considering making their own national cryptocurrency based on the Ruble [8], while the country of Abkhazia is planning on soon completely abandoning normal currency and moving towards a crypto alternative [9]. So Bitcoin awareness is definitely increasing worldwide, and could influence larger and larger countries to start using the technology.
Now the main question comes down to this – Is it really that difficult to think of a world where decentralized cryptocurrencies are commonly used as everyday forms of payment? After all, despite the price of one bitcoin being around $7000 at the time of this being written, it has plenty of room to go. As of right now, 14 million cryptocurrency wallets have been created since the known birth of cryptocurrencies, which means that far less than one percent of the world’s population actually owns cryptocurrencies, and an overwhelming majority of the world’s population doesn’t know what these currencies are in the first place.
Overall, bitcoin could massively change world industry economics and completely overhaul monetary exchange in the not-so-distant-future. The economic power can shift from the banks and governments to become a decentralized system that isn’t dictated by any central body, but instead the population as a whole. With enough trust and backing, bitcoin could easily dethrone the US Dollar as a base reserve currency, while the whole world further progresses technologically. ∎
The average number of bitcoin transactions per day is now up to nearly 305,000 transactions a day, meaning there is an average of 30 transactions a second.