Many believe we’ve only seen the first of many bitcoin millionaires. Because of its massive potential and support from tech leaders, there are more reasons than not for it to reach currency status.
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square and Twitter, even said “The internet is going to have a native currency, so let’s not wait for it to happen, let’s help it happen,” intending bitcoin to be that currency.
I will be talking about the potential for bitcoin’s growth, how it can reach its potential, and where it might possibly stop in its tracks.
Distribution
There will only be 21 million bitcoin ever in existence, 18.5 million in circulation right now, and more created by those you hear about called bitcoin miners.
Currently, there are 100 million users of bitcoin in the world. That means bitcoin is valued at $19,000 (as of December 2020), with only 1.2 percent of the population using it.
This puts into perspective just how much bitcoin can still grow.
With more people using it, the 21 million bitcoin will be more fractionally divided between them. Imagine if there were only 21 million dollars in the entire world, I’d be busting my back for an ugly penny. Fortunately, bitcoin can be divided into 100,000,000 pieces called satoshis… “Bitcoin cents.”
If bitcoin were to reach an extremely high price, people would be counting how many satoshis they have instead. To own “1 Bitcoin” would make you the modern-day millionaire.
Path To Growth
Building new infrastructure is much easier when there isn’t an old one to destroy. The U.S. is so intertwined with banks that it’s impossible to live without them. Bitcoin eliminates the need for banks to store and exchanging money, so most likely banks will do everything in their power to avoid its spread.
So how would bitcoin reach 2, 5, or even 10 percent of the human population from its current 1.2 percent? The answer is the continent of Africa.
Because of the lack of foundational obstacles in their path, countries on the continent may swiftly ascend to great power.
With a population of 1 billion and a harder time accessing banking systems, the continent seems ready for bitcoin. Some African countries already allow citizens to store money on their phones, called mobile-money. This means if bitcoin is adopted, its rise will be spectacular. They wouldn’t prefer to use it; they would have to use it.
If a whole continent’s population still isn’t big enough for you, know that their urban areas are set to grow the largest in the world. Only one example would be Lagos, Nigeria, possibly reaching a population of 88 million people by 2100 [3]. If only a few of these rising cities adopt bitcoin as a currency, it will triple the number of users.
You can probably see now that their market is ripe for cryptocurrency. Jack Dorsey, the previously mentioned CEO of Square, agrees. You see, Square is a company that relies on small transactions between people and small businesses. One of their products is Cash App, an app for sending money to other Cash App users.
They recently introduced the buying of bitcoin on their platform, showing a large endorsement for the cryptocurrency. They’re ahead of the game in bitcoin payment already. Expect everything they’ve learned here to be applied across the Atlantic where Jack wants to move for 6 months. If he get everyone there use to use his platform, the world is his oyster.
Arguments Against Bitcoin
Hey, I also have my own concerns about it. It’s hard to pay in bitcoin, and that’s what it was made for! Technology progresses nonetheless, and if there’s a need for it, it will improve. The most aching part is that wealthy companies are buying up what is supposed to be the people's currency, but if they can trust some internet money, why shouldn’t I.
There are plenty more arguments against bitcoin adoption. Price volatility, the quantum computing revolution, even the fact that literally anyone can make their own, better crypto. None of these grand forces could compete against the sheer strength of a single mistake.
One faulty line of code from a tired bitcoin engineer could pass peer review and collapse the whole system. If there’s anything to learn from history, it is that human error is almost guaranteed. All of the other problems have solutions, this one doesn’t, which is why my entire net worth isn’t in bitcoin.
Conclusion
Hopefully, I have given enough reason to consider bitcoin as a big factor in our future. There is a plan for it, and it is in motion. I’ve even heard rumors of Andrew Yang wanting to back the US Dollar with bitcoin. Big stuff. But I’m not a fan of ideas, I’m a fan of the people behind those ideas that turn them into a reality. Bitcoin has dreamers and they don’t dream small.
A worldwide currency must eventually exist. Bitcoin’s age, value, and infamy make it a leading contender. As for the $1 million price target… It’s an arbitrary number I chose. If we truly knew its limit, we would have moved on by now.
I invite anyone to start a dialogue on why I’m wrong in the comment section!
