Since its inception in 2008, bitcoin has gained unprecedented growth over the years. It has been dominating the cryptocurrency world for years. As such, there are a lot of conversations around bitcoin mining technology, price fluctuations, and bitcoins safety.
Most recent bitcoin news shows several emerging trends that continue to put it in the spotlight. Here are seven trends you should look out for.
Contents
1. The Halving Event
Since its creation, bitcoin halving has taken place twice. Bitcoin halving takes place once after four years. The next halving is scheduled for May 2020, which means every ten minutes, the amount of bitcoin generated will be halved. 6.25 bitcoins will be included instead of 12.5 bitcoins that are usually created. In the previous years, bitcoin halving led to an appreciation of the bitcoin price in the subsequent months. Hopefully, this year will be no exception. With the halving, the industry experts have predicted that towards the end of this year bitcoin price will have increased to $ 50,000
2. Bitcoin Network Upgrade
As the first cryptocurrency, bitcoin rarely goes through upgrades. However, that’s about to change in 2020. The bitcoin network will go live with the soft fork upgrade of Taproot, Tapescript, and Schnorr. It is expected that the bitcoin network will increase in scalability with the looming updates. Also, this will lead to an increase in contract functionality and enhance bitcoin privacy.
3. Form of Payment
Though not a widely practiced form of payment, bitcoin has been used in the exchange of services and goods. More business sectors are tapping in this opportunity, allowing their customers to purchase almost anything with bitcoin.
Several food chains have integrated bitcoin as one of their payment methods. In California, Pizzaforcoins allows you to buy pizza from its chain restaurants across the state using bitcoin. Lieferando food chain in German is also embracing bitcoin transactions, and another delivery restaurant in Russia has added bitcoin payment as a payment method among its 90 food chains in the country. In the recent past, the number of sectors that are using bitcoin for translation has gone up, and 2020 is registering a higher amount as most people are adopting cashless transactions.
4. Bitcoin Earning Features in Online Gaming
Recently there are online games that have been developed to either reward or penalize gamers with bitcoin for winning or losing, respectively. Gaming platforms such as DonnerLab and Lightning have already developed such a system.
Most gamers have taken to investing in cryptocurrency, allowing them to use bitcoin to purchase their games online. As the popularity of online gaming is increasing, so is the currency transaction, thereby increasing the value of bitcoin.
5. Bitcoin Use in Tourism and Travel
With people traveling across the world annually, travel and tour agencies are making it easier for their customers to book their travels online using bitcoins.
Some traveling agencies such as Expedia, star jet international, and travel for coins, among others, are opened to online hotel booking using bitcoin. Hotel websites such as HotelG24 and future.travel have integrated bitcoin payment on their online hotel booking platforms. Also, CheapAir and Virgin Galactic are accepting bitcoin for their online airline bookings.
Germany’s tourism board has been accepting bitcoin payments since 2018. Many more agencies are considering this option. Your traveling is made more accessible as you don’t have to travel around with cash in bulk.
6. Increased Number of New Investors
Bitcoin experienced an increased number of investors in 2017 when its price appreciated. This spike marked the beginning of a consistent increase in bitcoin investors in the following years. This trend is also associated with the fact that bitcoin’s return on investment is at an all-time high as compared to other assets investments. Also, there is increased adoption of bitcoin all over the world in different industries, and the currency has a low risk of fluctuations. The overall effect of more investors is an accelerated value of bitcoin in the market.
7. Bitcoin ATMs
With the popularity of bitcoin worldwide, bitcoin automated tellers (BTMs) have been on the increase in major cities across the world. Recent statistics place the number at 7000, with January 2020 registering over 400 new BTMs. This significant increase in BTM enables crypto enthusiasts to sell and buy bitcoin without getting online. The numbers of BTM are projected to increase in the coming months as each day; over nine ATMs are installed worldwide.
With these emerging trends, bitcoin demand is on the increase. With increased demands comes low volatility, making your investment more secure and more manageable. Bitcoin is a great investment opportunity you can venture in as its future is promising.
