Ask Dr. Bitcoin: Has the Bitcoin bubble burst?
Though the Bitcoin cryptocurrency has been around for years, only recently has the mainstream taken interest, raising dozens of questions about what Bitcoin is, how and when it’s used, who created it and how the cryptocurrency market operates.
Good thing, here are SiliconANGLE we have our very own Bitcoin expert, Mark “Rizzn” Hopkins, who we fondly refer to as Dr. Bitcoin. He keeps a regular column providing market analysis on the cryptocurrency, and now he’s answering reader-submitted questions.
Every week, we will be featuring these public questions for Dr. Bitcoin to address, so as to help readers better understand Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency-related topics.
Has the Bitcoin bubble burst?
Dr. Bitcoin: No way. Google just announced plans for support. Investment in the space is up about 1000 percent year-over-year. The price of Bitcoin is up 720 percent year-over-year.
As Dr. Bitcoin pointed out, the Bitcoin bubble has yet to burst. Back in January, Google Senior Vice President Vic Gundotra let slip that its payments arm is figuring out a way to incorporate Bitcoin into its plans. Though there has yet to be an official announcement regarding the support for Bitcoin, the fact that a technology giant such as Google is looking into it means that there is still a future for Bitcoin.
What’s next for Bitcoin’s mass adoption since its value dropped?
Dr. Bitcoin: There are a lot of answers to that question. My opinion is that there needs to be more advancement in making user adoption easy. People don’t want to remember long bitcoin hash addresses and understand the protocol. Just like people don’t want to understand TCP/IP. They want to make money easier and better. Bitcoin promises that, but so far hasn’t delivered it to anything more than the alpha geek crowd.
Bitcoin’s value has significantly dropped from its $1,000 high near the end of 2013. Bitcoin’s value as of writing is now at $238 per Bitcoin and though it is no where near the $1,000 mark, it is still thriving which is a good sign for Bitcoin.
What did you think of Morgan Spurlock’s investigation into the world of bitcoin on CNN’s “Inside Man”?
Dr. Bitcoin: Haven’t watched it yet, but I’ve heard good things. I tried to watch it on the plane, but they pre-empted it with Oscars coverage. It’s had a positive effect on people’s perceptions of Bitcoin, from what I see. It was a good way to attract laymen attention without being insulting to the early adopter community.
Spurlock is a documentarist known for the award-winning film “Super Size Me.” Now with his own show on CNN, Spurlock recently explored the world of bitcoin to test whether he could survive a week making transactions through bitcoin services only. Watch the full segment here.
Since you’re here …
… We’d like to tell you about our mission and how you can help us fulfill it. SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s business model is based on the intrinsic value of the content, not advertising. Unlike many online publications, we don’t have a paywall or run banner advertising, because we want to keep our journalism open, without influence or the need to chase traffic.The journalism, reporting and commentary on SiliconANGLE — along with live, unscripted video from our Silicon Valley studio and globe-trotting video teams at theCUBE — take a lot of hard work, time and money. Keeping the quality high requires the support of sponsors who are aligned with our vision of ad-free journalism content.
If you like the reporting, video interviews and other ad-free content here, please take a moment to check out a sample of the video content supported by our sponsors, tweet your support, and keep coming back to SiliconANGLE.
