Bitcoin may be unstable, but people are still going to move over to it, particularly in countries that have turbulent economies.
Bitcoin Is a Store of Value
That’s according to the Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit. Earlier this year, Ohanian revealed that he was stepping back from his duties at the social news aggregator. This was so he could focus more of his time on Initialized Capital, a venture capital firm he co-founded in 2011 with general partner Garry Tan.
In a report from Yahoo! Finance, Ohanian remained bullish on Bitcoin despite its volatility. In his opinion, it is “a store of value” with “real traction.” This is especially the case in countries that are in an economic crisis such as Turkey or Venezuela. He said:
We’re going to see money move over to bitcoin because as unstable as it is, it is actually a lot more stable for a lot of people than their own nations’ fiat currency. But right now, we’re still in the earliest, earliest stages.
The first eight months of 2018 have proven tough for the market. At the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018, crypto assets were experiencing record highs. Bitcoin was valued within touching distance of $20,000, whereas Ether and Litecoin were priced at $1,400 and $360, respectively.
However, at the time of writing, those figures remain out of reach. According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin is trading at $6,930, Ethereum remains under $300, at $285, and Litecoin is priced at over $60.
Don’t Get Too Invested in Speculation
Even though prices are low in the market, the number of people opening crypto accounts doesn’t appear to be waning.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of San Francisco-based exchange Coinbase, revealed earlier this month that it was signing up to 50,000 new users a day last year. What that figure is now is not known. However, he added that it had helped customers trade $150 billion worth of crypto assets.
Yet, as Ohanian explained, more people are opening accounts despite price fluctuations. This, in turn, is seeing an increase in adoption. He added, though:
I just encourage people not to get too, too invested in the speculation around the day-to-day trading of the currencies.
Charlie Lee, the founder of Litecoin, said yesterday that, at the moment, cryptocurrencies are volatile due to speculation. However, in the future, their prices will reflect their success. With citizens in countries such as Venezuela or Turkey using crypto assets more frequently, this will help to boost adoption rates.
Do you think more people will move over to crypto? Let us know in the comments below.
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