o what’s next for Bitcoin? As outlined previously, it has many advantages and for this reason it will remain relevant as a currency. The vast majority of BTC transactions by volume are made in China so the two will remain interlinked.
We see the biggest risk to Bitcoin being its substitution and/or parallel use by other crypto currencies. Bitcoin die-hard fans claim that this is never going to be an issue since Bitcoin was the pioneer and as such enjoys first-mover privilege. This argument is probably flawed because although the BTC is used for payments, this is only a relatively small % of all Bitcoins. One of its primary uses is being a store of value and for this reason other crypto currencies can always step in and enjoy similar status if aggregate demand requires it.
Is Bitcoin simply a 21st century version of gold, only without the storage issues? Or is it just a short-lived popular fad that may soon evolve into something quite different? Only time will tell. The only certainty is that its price will remain very volatile in the future.
If the Federal Reserve provides its blessing to Ripple and their XRP currency we might see a major shift. I do believe that BTC will continue to grow and has a high likelihood of serving as a store of value. Short term I see BTC rising to the range of $10K if more major investment funds start moving into this vertical.