2017 Witnessed an Incredible Bitcoin Boom – Just How Big Can it Become?

If you were around in 2017 and you read financial news, you probably will have heard of bitcoin by now. Or, at least, you know that something exists and it goes by the name of bitcoin. Last year, the currency went absolutely crazy, and the value of one bitcoin reached an all-time high of $19,000 in early December. Considering it started the year at around the $1,000 mark, this is an incredible surge which highlights the fact that the world is waking up to the e-currency. Could this be a bubble like some have suggested, or will the futuristic payment method soar to even greater heights in 2018?

Even though bitcoin has been all over the news in recent months due to its drastic spark in value in the latter stages of the year, there are still many people who don’t know about the e-currency. In fact, according to a study conducted by Lottoland, the brand behind the first Bitcoin lottery, one in seven people think that bitcoin was a board game. 79 percent of the respondents had actually heard of bitcoin, but only two percent had invested in it. This shows that the e-currency still has a long way to go.

Bitcoin was invented in 2009 by a mysterious programmer called Satoshi Nakamoto, who is still unknown to the public apart from that name. The idea was to have an internet currency which would bypass the banks and could be used from anywhere in the world. At first, the idea seemed like a novelty, and interest was only shown by other computer experts who were mildly intrigued.

But, as technology has progressed rapidly and more and more businesses are existing solely online, the need for one universal currency is growing.  Now, experts are realizing that bitcoin could be this world currency and, in the same way as the email surpassed the regular post, it could also blow regular currencies out of the water, at least in an online setting.

The fact that bitcoin grew by around 1700 percent last year with only two percent of the British population having invested in it highlights just how big it could become if it is adopted by the masses. As it stands, people are investing in the idea of bitcoin becoming the future go-to currency. This means to say that it is all still speculative. If it does take the world by storm, then those who got on it in the early stages stand to benefit greatly. Others, who are perhaps more cynical, are holding off on the cryptocurrency because they don’t believe that bitcoin will reach the heights that many are expecting.

Bitcoin has a history of large fluctuations in price, but the strong incline in 2017 due to more people waking up to the cryptocurrency has proven that it has the potential to reach astronomical levels. The only thing that could possibly halt bitcoin’s rise in 2018 is the emergence of other cryptocurrencies that are vying to be number one. Ethereum and Litecoin have also risen dramatically in the past year, and are making strong cases for mass usage as well.

If bitcoin does enjoy another successful year similar to 2017, then there is a real possibility that one coin could soon be worth $1 million. If this happens, then those holding it now will have made a serious amount of profit.