The year of 2015 has been representative for Bitcoin, due to the fact that the currency’s price more than doubled, and is bound to surge even higher in 2016.
Perhaps the main reason behind this is the fact that investors and simple bitcoin users have managed to regain confidence in the system, following the collapse of the Mt. Gox exchange back in 2014. At this moment in time, bitcoin is trading at the sum of $447, which is over $200 when compared to the beginning of the last year.
Opinions regarding how much further the price of the cryptocurrency will go in the year of 2016 have appeared. In fact, a couple of polls found that around 37 percent of the community believes that the price for one bitcoin will range between $500 and $1000 next year, whereas 26 percent think that it’ll reach $1000 and go even higher, as the demand for the digital currency continues to climb. As the Bitcoin price has already surged by more than 900% since the currency began trading in 2010, it’s highly likely that a couple of more volatility events will take place in 2016, most of which will encourage other surges in the price of the cryptocurrency.
It’s also worth pointing out that when created by Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin was designed in such a way than when farmed, the reward would halve in size once every four years. This is bound to happen once again in July 2016. As a result, less bitcoin will be mined, thus invoking the supply-demand principle, which will likely increase the value of the cryptocurrency. With time, if still used, the bitcoin value will likely skyrocket, considering the fact that it was designed in such a way to simulate a commodity, due to the finite supply of 21 million bitcoin, which if the halving process continues, will be reached in around 125 years.
While it’s difficult to foresee what else the year of 2016 will bring to bitcoin, it’s worth pointing out that there are several events that marked this year, and which will likely be solved by next year. The Bitcoin Foundation will probably disappear, the Bitcoin fork debate will eventually end, and regulation will likely to continue being implemented, in order to reduce criminality associated with the cryptocurrency.
Recent events also indicate that the interest which financial institutions have shown towards the blockchain, the underlying technology of the digital currency will grow. If this happens, then chances are that the first stock trading platforms based on the blockchain might appear in the upcoming year.
Based on everything that has been outlined so far, what do you personally think about the foreseeable future of Bitcoin in 2016? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.