The cryptocurrency market has grown exponentially over the past few years, and it’s certainly here to stay for the long-term. There are many advantages of investing in Bitcoin specifically, and as you’ll read about in this article, buying cryptocurrency as a long-term store of value may just be one of the best investments you can make today. Here are five reasons why it’s worth investing in Bitcoin as a long-term store of value...
5 Reasons to Buy Bitcoin as a Long-Term Store of Value
1) Reaching New Users
New users are probably more likely to buy crypto if they already have experience with it. For example, adding Bitcoin support can be a way for big tech companies like Facebook and Google to generate revenue—and those new users might stay on board when the real world demand for cryptocurrencies increases. (That’s why Facebook is reportedly very serious about integrating cryptocurrency payments into its Messenger app.) The same goes for traditional brick-and-mortar businesses that might find blockchain technology appealing—like loyalty programs or rewards points that are exchanged automatically.
And startups looking to make inroads in Africa or South America might find crypto payments far more appealing than competitors who require hard currency or even cash. Even if you don't own any cryptocurrency, you should still care about new users because every time someone uses crypto to buy something online or in person, there's an opportunity for value creation. (If only we could all profit from someone else's purchases...)
2) Partnerships
Many cryptocurrencies have launched with no clear use case, whereas Bitcoin has been used for both its currency and for payments. While it’s true that crypto tokens like Filecoin and Siacoin serve specific purposes (file storage and decentralized cloud storage, respectively), they are unproven entities. But there is already proof that Bitcoin has more practical uses—for example, remittances have spiked due to consumers moving money from their domestic currency into Bitcoin.
Cryptocurrencies that hope to replace cash will need strong partnerships with retailers or banks, who may be willing to accept bitcoin payments in exchange for supporting transactions using their own currencies. Additionally, partnerships can help boost cryptocurrencies’ credibility and create market awareness. For example, Bitcoin gained credibility when Microsoft announced that it would allow users to pay for certain products on its Windows store using bitcoin. The partnership shows mainstream acceptance of crypto payments, which could encourage people to view Bitcoin as a long-term store of value.
3) Payment Applications
Most people buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for one reason—to make payments. As payment systems, digital currencies can be sent anywhere in the world at any time with no intermediaries and little cost. If you buy cryptocurrency specifically because you want to use it on one of its many payment applications, it could help your investment in cryptocurrency pay off by giving you more places and ways to spend them. For example, Bitcoin is accepted as payment for gift cards and donations; companies like Expedia now accept Bitcoin, too.
Use all your Bitcoins on big purchases?
Try using them on small ones first! You might find yourself surprised at how easy it is to start spending cryptocurrency.
4) Real World Usage
Right now, cryptocurrency is used to buy things that are considered digital and virtual. If you want to pay for web hosting or domain names, you can use bitcoin; if you want to send money overseas, it’s relatively simple. The problem is there aren’t many easy ways yet to spend crypto in your everyday life. We need more companies that offer crypto payment options at checkout so people actually feel like they have some tangible value beyond speculative investing. These types of services will fuel demand and drive prices higher as less supply comes into markets and people need a place (and secure place) where they can store their assets securely offline. This should help drive up price over time because as crypto gets harder to mine, more expensive and harder to acquire, investors will only turn to places with actual utility—the real world.
That’s why I believe bitcoin has long-term potential; it solves real problems for people today. As its real world usage increases over time, so too should its price...at least until we hit a technological singularity.
5) Business Potential
While there are plenty of reasons not to invest in bitcoin (or any cryptocurrency for that matter), if you buy into cryptocurrency as a long-term store of value, there are numerous business potentials for these currencies. Cryptocurrencies already have many real world uses and are easier than ever to accept and trade. Businesses will always need ways to accept payments—and crypto offers that with far lower fees and lower risk than most traditional payment methods. If you don’t have faith in cryptocurrencies now, wait until you see what they look like in 5 years!
There is no shortage of use cases for crypto—the only thing holding it back right now is our inability to imagine what those use cases might be. But they will come; I’m certain. And when they do, cryptocurrencies will become even more valuable. In fact, if cryptocurrencies can make it through their first major bubble without completely crashing out of existence, their inherent value could well make them worth thousands or even millions per coin by 2020. Of course, nothing is guaranteed. But given how quickly cryptocurrency adoption has been growing over the past few years and considering how much potential cryptocurrency has as a long-term store of value—I think it's definitely worth taking a closer look at bitcoin as an investment opportunity over other assets. The market may crash tomorrow or bitcoin may continue rising for another 10 years—but either way, I believe cryptocurrencies offer too much business potential to ignore them entirely and so consider them an investment worth making over other options in my portfolio today.
Conclusion
It's hard to predict where bitcoin or cryptocurrency prices will go from here, but I know one thing: I'm confident cryptocurrencies won't disappear anytime soon. If anything, cryptocurrencies have made huge strides in just a few short years since Bitcoin was invented—and we've only just begun seeing what crypto is capable of doing. As more people adopt crypto and new business models develop around it, cryptocurrencies will likely become increasingly useful both as investments and everyday currencies. Given all that business potential, cryptocurrency investors should feel confident about investing for the long term regardless of whether bitcoin crashes tomorrow or continues rising for another decade or two—as long as we're able to ride out whatever volatility comes along with such wild price swings!