So, what's the deal with bitcoin?
This thing is selling like crazy for some reason, and I have no idea why. Can someone shed some light as to why this has become so popular all of a sudden?
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There's no real interest on the currency itself, most people are just using it as a "get rich quick" scheme. The moment people start cashing out en masse this shit's gonna burst.
The less people trust the government, the more valuable alternative forms of wealth are.
I wouldn't say "all of a suddent" ... been spreading for a while now, it has.
It's been growing since 2009 and struck 10k about a week ago, dived down to 8.5k once the selloff started, big bang's newest episode focused on it heavily and put it in a positive light, Bitcoin's value has now increased to 12k.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have interesting implications for the future of exchange. When I started looking at it, it was at like $1300, but there was speculation that the governments of the world would fight it. They still might-- and that uncertainty makes it risky. For all its impressive growth, it is still volatile. I think the price will normalize much lower than it what it's currently out, as the technology becomes more accepted, but right now it's a commodity, not a currency. That limits its utility.
What interests me the most is why bitcoin specifically became so popular. We all know there are many other types of online currency, so what specifically about bitcoin made it so popular?
The bonanza of cryptocurrencies is due to them being a far better alternative (at least in theory) compared to "real" money. Bitcoins are the backbone of the cryptocurrency market, while other (a bit less popular) currencies like Monero, Iota, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple are what will soon start being used more consistently. The anonymity of such currencies (since they need no name/address/personal info), plus the fact that they're not centralized (there's nothing really controlling the flow of bitcoin) and that everyone can, at least in theory, produce them with some PCs/miners makes them a far better currency for the new digital era.
It's anonymous.