When earlier this year, Mike Hearns; a prominent former developer and voice for bitcoin stated that Bitcoin had failed, and that its price would drop in the near future, many people listened, and sold their cryptos, in a panic sell, fearing the worst. But not everyone - certainly another prominent voice and developer Gavin Andresen, offered his confidence, and I myself, was quick to offer a rebuttal in this article: Bitcoin will be here to stay, longterm..
Fast forward to the middle of the year, and we are beginning to see an emerging pattern with increasing clarity. Just 2 days ago, the price of bitcoin hit 570 USD, on one of the leading bitcoin exchanges - Bitfinex. This figure, is the equivalent of just under $800 AUD. Such heights on the bitcoin price have not been seen since times of the bubble.
The resulting chart shape, potentially spanning almost 2 years, is significant - as this is a strong indication that this is no minor reversal of trend, but a clear bullish sign, where the pattern is a reflection of sentiment.
Facts are facts. Bitcoin has been around for several years, and it has been tried and tested, and it has survived, not only developmental hiccups, but also in-community fighting, as well as a barrage of media articles that sensationally claim all doom and gloom for the cryptocurrency. This isn't a stretch - if you check out the Bitcoin Obituaries at https://99bitcoins.com/bitcoinobituaries/ - you will see a list of over 100 major headlines that have declared bitcoin dead. The earliest of which, claimed bitcoin "can't be a currency" - when it's value was just 0.23 cents.
While the price of bitcoin will undoubtedly rise, the real question shouldn't be whether it is alive, or dead - but rather, how governments and banks should integrate this technology, and this currency into the existing paradigm.
Some are choosing to altogether ban the currency - like Russia, which is passing a law to make it illegal to use or hold bitcoin, with punishment up to 7 years in prison.
Others are cautiously trying to embrace it. Either way, it is here to stay. Making such a technology illegal, will not only hold the development of the blockchain back, but also force those that want to use it, onto anonymous proxies and Tor networks, evading detection.
