By now you’ve probably heard of the new digital currency called Bitcoin or BTC. However, it is neither new nor is it a true currency. It’s been around for 12 years, and the term currency can be misleading because you can’t really go into a Mcdonald’s, order a happy meal and pay in Bitcoin. Not yet anyway. So if Bitcoin isn’t a currency then what is it exactly? And should you invest in bitcoin?
This is one of those ask 5 people and you’ll get 5 different answers kinds of questions. For certain it is a store of value that is decentralized. Or, in other words, like the fiat currency in your wallet (all those dollar bills), it is not controlled by any one government or financial institution like the Fed.
The San Francisco Examiner defines Bitcoin as an investment that offers anonymity to its users. They also claim that sooner or later, it will take over the financial markets as we know them. Bitcoin is considered a highly convenient asset to own since you can store its code in your digital wallet. Or you can simply go to one of the more popular investment apps like Robinhood or the Cash App, and simply purchase as much as you want right on your smartphone. Try doing that with physical gold or silver?
While lots of cryptocurrencies are being introduced all the time, Bitcoin still reigns supreme as the most promising in terms of short and long-term growth. Yet it can still be very volatile, so be warned, owning Bitcoin is not for the faint of heart. But what’s even more interesting, is that you don’t need to purchase an entire Bitcoin all at once to become an investor. Even a young person who has limited funds can go to one of the investment apps and invest in bitcoin by purchasing just a fraction of a Bitcoin.
Maybe you have just $100 to spend on an investment, and you’re wondering what to do with it. You can of course, put it in the bank and receive zero interest. In fact, once you’re through paying bank fees, you will end up losing money. You could purchase a portion of a stock like Tesla, for instance. But in order to make big gains on big stocks, you already need to have access to lots of money since stocks are a go-big-or-go-home kind of game.
Or, you could invest in bitcoin in a tiny portion of one Bitcoin. With the digital asset projected to hit $150,000 per Bitcoin in 2021 alone, you stand the chance of turning your $100 into $1500 by year’s end. That doesn’t mean the asset won’t have pullbacks and corrections. But says XRP News, no other asset on earth has performed as well as BTC has since its inception in 2011.
That said, what are the 5 best reasons to purchase Bitcoin in 2021?
No Paperwork for Bitcoin
According to the San Fransisco Examiner, unlike traditional investments like an IRA, you don’t need to complete any paperwork at a bank and/or financial institution when you invest in bitcoin. Your Bitcoin transactions occur entirely over the internet, which makes it paperless and anonymous.
Because there’s no paperwork involved, you can safely transfer the Bitcoin back into fiat currency from anywhere in the world, at any minute of the day, be it weekends and/or holidays. Unlike the bank, the Bitcoin store, if you will, never closes.
Mobile Bitcoin Payments are Super Fast, Super Mobile
While Bitcoin isn’t a true currency and more of a store of value, some vendors will nonetheless take BTC as payment. And those payments are super fast, if not immediate. Your payment will not be pending for up to 5 business days like it would when working with a normal centralized bank.
What’s more, your payments can be made via mobile wallets. If you need to send fiat currency to a vendor, the transaction can take days to be approved in some cases. With Bitcoin, you simply transfer a specified amount to the vendor, and the transaction is completed immediately.
Bitcoin Requires no Transaction Fees
Have you looked at your bank statement lately? Notice how many fees are attached to doing business with a traditional bank? So many fees are now associated with banks that regular folks like you, along with some financial institutions and certain businesses, are leaving the banks and switching over to cryptocurrencies.
The Bitcoin protocol demands that no transaction fees are associated with international payments. Certain exchanges charge a fee when cashing out fiat currency that’s been converted from Bitcoin profits, but they are minimal compared to what banks charge for doing business with them.
Bitcoin is Decentralized
Traditional payment and banking systems are tied directly into the government (the IRS), and mega financial institutions like the Fed. This means that global transactions do not occur without their blessing. That is unless you find a way to transfer pallets of cold hard cash on a private flight across the ocean.
But with Bitcoin, transactions are permissionless and anonymous, which means the government has no clue about it. While this might sound illegal, it is in fact, perfectly legal. But that doesn’t mean government regulations aren’t coming to Bitcoin soon. More than likely, these regulations will have little or no effect on their value.
Bitcoin is a Safe Haven
While the Bitcoin price fluctuates, sometimes wildly, even on a daily basis, over the long term, the price has only gone up, making it a safe financial haven. Think of it as a jetliner that’s experiencing bad turbulence but that still gets you to your destination safely. But, you can still safely invest in bitcoin.
Over time, the price per BTC will continue to go up since, unlike gold or money printing, Bitcoin is a finite asset. That means there’s only so much to go around. The law of supply and demand dictates that the more desired the asset (the more people and institutions buy-in), the higher the price will go. Some pundits predict a $1 million Bitcoin by 2025 or 2026.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general, are just one type of asset for you to choose if you only have $100 to spend. No one person, news pundit, or blogger should ever tell which type of asset to buy. You should do your own research and choose which type of asset best suits your needs.
If you feel Bitcoin is the wave of the financial future and that it can’t help but increase in value, then, by all means, buy the ticket and take the ride. It will be a wild one.