The word "bitcoin" continues to appear very often in various news reports. Indeed, the cryptocurrency, which a year ago was worth $ 4,000, is now valued at almost $ 60,000 per coin. Recall that no cryptocurrency itself has a cost (value). It's just a piece of useless code. However, if everyone in this world is willing to pay any money for a piece of useless code, then it certainly becomes more expensive. This is the reality of the 21st century that a piece of code that has only ephemeral value is used in anonymous international payments, is a "bone in the throat" for all governments and central banks, and heavily pollutes the environment. Despite the fact that the absolute majority of experts believe that it does not perform the function of money, it also can not be used as a means of saving or payment instrument. Just the other day, the same opinion was voiced by Bank of America analysts.
One of the authors of the report "Bitcoin's Dirty Little Secrets" said that bitcoin cannot be used as a means of preserving value. Even the money under the pillow, lying there for years, retains value much better than bitcoin, which you hold in your hands for only 10 minutes. It is not tied to inflation and is extremely volatile, according to Francisco Blanch. "The main argument in favor of buying BTC coins is not the diversification of investment risks, stable income or protection from inflation, but a simple and banal price increase simply because the demand for bitcoin outstrips the supply," the BofA analyst believes. Blanch also notes that about 95% of all bitcoin is contained in 2.4% of wallets, which can greatly hinder the introduction of "digital gold" to the masses. Rather, bitcoin will become a means of investment for the rich, because at its current cost, not everyone can afford to buy even a certain percentage of it.
It should be recalled that at the moment about 19 million bitcoin coins have been mined, and about 15 of them have been in their wallets for a long time. Simply put, there are 3 or 4 million coins in circulation around the world, which is certainly very small to proclaim bitcoin as the "world digital currency." Analysts also focus on the fact that mining farms consume a lot of electricity, and the network itself provides a very low transaction speed, which will also prevent bitcoin from becoming a digital analogue of fiat money. Analysts also note that the production of cryptocurrency annually costs the Earth's atmosphere 60 million tons of carbon dioxide. Bear in mind that bitcoin is a useless piece of code, but the planet pays a high price so that humanity can mine this code. In the end, bitcoin will have a hard time, according to BofA analysts, as central banks will launch their digital currencies, which will make a tough competition for bitcoin.
