One of the Bitcoin fans opines that “Bitcoin is like early electricity. Raw, dangerous, seems very volatile and hard to use. With time it’ll start to feel safer, easier, and normal. Like electricity, it will inspire and power new unimaginable industries. And one day we’ll wonder how did we live without it?”
This opinion dwells at a point in time where there are counter opinions that state that the Bitcoin transactions cost too much energy. Also, they feel that the throughput of the network is too low and that the fees are unpredictable. The energy issue is cited as one of the reasons for why it might not be easy to establish a mass world adoption of Bitcoin.
Despite all, Bitcoin is hailed the grand-daddy of all the blockchain-based cryptocurrencies. With the Bitcoin halving soon approaching, the BTC talks are increasing. Anything about BTC is coming under microscopic observations.
Of note, the BTC network is sustained by the transaction fees. With the halving approaching to keep the miners comfortable, a common opinion is that either the transaction fees should go up or the capacity for increased transactions should be increased.
There are critics who feel that increasing the transaction fees alone will not contribute to the security of the blockchain. Proof of Work is about ensuring high security. However, Proof of Stakes is preferred by many as it provides better security but with reduced energy usage. Citation is made to ETH in trying to establish the superiority of PoS and reduced energy usage.
Sydney Ifergan, the crypto expert, tweeted: “Miners, exchanges, merchants, developers, and User wallets decide the consensus of Bitcoin BTC, and therefore it is secure. It is not practical to take any one of these elements out of the equation.”
Practically whether miners find it profitable to stay in business is not a one-day decision; it is something that they go through day-in and day-out – literally every day.
The past two BTC halvings led to a phenomenal price increase. Will that continue during the third halving?
Those who believed in the Bitcoin so far have only succeeded. Amidst the corona crisis, the price only went high. We need to await how the reality of BTC price after halving unfolds. Even without the halving, BTC is already scarce. It is not clear if the BTC price that is currently trending is a precursor for what is set to come. Despite this, there is a record rate of interest in the halving process.
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