Bitcoin will continue to grow, but not forever. Although its short-term outlook is very promising, its long-term outlook, on the contrary, is very worrying. This is because the very nature of the cryptocurrency is unstable.
To add to that, according to calculations of analysts, approximately every two years, the cost of energy required to generate one unit doubles. Consequently, the price of Bitcoin should adjust in the same frequency.
Therefore, if the cryptocurrency continues to accelerate intensively, then literally in a decade, the value of BTC will grow even more. Also, to be able to develop one unit, it will need energy from almost the whole world. Of course, such a scenario is impossible, even theoretically. This means that energy costs significantly limit the production of the cryptocurrency.
And recently, the chief economic adviser to the US president spoke out about the unreasonably high energy costs used to produce Bitcoin. He said that the amount needed to process the cryptocurrency shocked him. Of course, it is not a secret that the main spenders are blockchain technologies on which cryptocurrencies are based. They require colossal computing power. In fact, recent studies show staggering numbers: miners perform 160 calculations every second with 18 zeros, that is, 160 quintillion.
The situation is then heated by the latest statistics from the University of Cambridge. Not so long ago, British experts from the CCAF (Center for Alternative Finance) came to the conclusion that, on a yearly basis, BTC mining takes an average of 40 to 445 terawatt hours. For comparison: the annual electricity consumption in the UK is estimated by experts at about 300 units.
Especially alarming is the fact that in most cases, energy for cryptocurrency needs is drawn from minerals. As a result, "green" experts are now sounding the alarm and making more and more claims against cryptocurrencies. In turn, financial experts understand that this pressure can intensify in the future. As such, the number of transactions that the system could handle is limited, which does not bode well for BTC.
Another factor threatening the cryptocurrency is its imperfect architecture. In particular, this is the hackable nature of Bitcoin. Experts believe that eventually, the cryptocurrency will be hacked, which in turn, will lead to its depreciation. Of course, this will not happen in a year or even in two, so until that moment happens, BTC can make an impressive fortune.
