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| comment | | "parent_author":"",<br>"parent_permlink":"steempress",<br>"author":"ohiobitcoin",<br>"permlink":"5reasonsbitcoinisfundamentallystrongerthanever-5ujqlghamg",<br>"title":"5 Reasons Bitcoin is Fundamentally Stronger Than Ever",<br>"body":"<a href=\"http:\/\/bitcoinist.com\/5-reasons-bitcoin-fundamentally-stronger-ever\/\">5 Reasons Bitcoin is Fundamentally Stronger Than Ever<\/a><br \/><p><a href=\"http:\/\/bitcoinist.com\/author\/allen-scott\/\" title=\"Posts by Allen Scott\">Allen Scott<\/a> \u00b7 March 15,<br> 2018 \u00b7 8:00 am<p><strong>Price of Bitcoin got you down? Don\u2019t worry! Bitcoin isn\u2019t dead (again). What\u2019s more,<br> here are five reasons the world\u2019s first cryptocurrency is fundamentally stronger than ever.<\/strong><\/p><hr><h3>More People Are Using It<\/h3><p>Metrics gauging Bitcoin users and usage all point to a continuous uptrend,<br> albeit with peaks and alleys along the way,<br> just like with any new technology. <\/p><p>First,<br> transaction volume per day is probably the most straighforward metric,<br> which follows a rising trend-line seen in the chart below. Admittedly,<br> the recent drop in volume is significant. However,<br> part of this could be due to the <a href=\"https:\/\/info.shapeshift.io\/blog\/2018\/02\/22\/shapeshift-now-batching-bitcoin-transactions\" target=\"_blank\">increasing practice<\/a> of transaction batching,<br> which lowers overall volume. <\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/ohiobitcoin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/LaoWpF.png\" alt=\"Bitcoin usage\" width=\"640\" height=\"328\"><br><\/p><p>Second,<br> one of the best indicators for organic Bitcoin demand is LocalBitcoins,<br> a global <em>peer-to-peer<\/em> platform for buying the cryptocurrency. Interestingly,<br> the chart below is very similar to the price chart,<br> with volume recently peaking in December,<br> correlating to Bitcoin\u2019s all-time price high of nearly $20,<br>000 USD at the time. Nevertheless,<br> the general upward trend remains intact.<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/ohiobitcoin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/qJhmp0.png\" alt=\"LocalBitcoins\" width=\"640\" height=\"302\"><br><\/p><p>Third,<br> while the number of wallets and addresses in existence doesn\u2019t directly equate to the number of users worldwide (since most wallets now always generate new addresses and users have multiple accounts),<br> it does paint a general picture of increasing popularity,<br> nevertheless.<\/p><p>Blockchain,<br> one of the most popular Bitcoin wallets,<br> has experienced a rapid increase in new accounts,<br> now nearing 24 million,<br> for example. Additionally,<br> one of the most popular Bitcoin exchanges in the world,<br> Coinbase,<br> has recently passed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Bitcoin\/comments\/84aa7a\/coinbase_passes_20million_users_in_35_countries\/\" target=\"_blank\">20 million user<\/a> milestone as it expanded into 35 countries.<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/ohiobitcoin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/MDQhtk.png\" alt=\"Blockchain wallets\" width=\"640\" height=\"328\"><br><\/p><p>At these rates,<br> analysts expect the number of Bitcoin users to reach 200 million by 2024,<br> RT <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/business\/408301-bitcoin-balloon-birthday-cryptocurrency\/\" target=\"_blank\">reports<\/a>.<\/p><h3>Nodes Are More Numerous (And More Widely Distributed) Than Ever<\/h3><p>Nodes can be thought of as the interacting messenger cells of the Bitcoin organism. Bitcoin <a href=\"https:\/\/en.bitcoin.it\/wiki\/Full_node\" target=\"_blank\">full nodes<\/a> validate transactions based on network protocol rules. By running a full node,<br> the user can validate their own transactions in a more trustless manner.<\/p><p>The latest data shows a <a href=\"http:\/\/bitcoinist.com\/bitcoin-core-node-accelerated-post-hard-fork\/\" target=\"_blank\">record number<\/a> of reachable nodes spread out all over the globe. Interestingly,<br> China has the second largest number of nodes with over 2,<br>300,<br> despite last year\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/bitcoinist.com\/china-bank-probe-exchanges-btcc\/\" target=\"_blank\">regulatory clampdown<\/a> by the government.<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/ohiobitcoin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/TnkwyD.jpg\" alt=\"Bitcoin nodes\" width=\"640\" height=\"292\"><br><\/p><p>The more full nodes there are,<br> the more decentralized the network becomes. This makes it harder to disrupt or successfully attack the network,<br> and,<br> in turn,<br> empowers users to become self-validating and financially-sovereign entities.<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/ohiobitcoin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/p7YF9w.png\" alt=\"Bitcoin Core nodes\" width=\"640\" height=\"302\"><br><\/p><h3>Bitcoin Is Scaling<\/h3><p>As Bitcoin experienced a surge in new interest and users,<br> the network became congested,<br> leading to a spike in transaction costs at the end of last year. The adoption of <a href=\"http:\/\/bitcoinist.com\/segwit-now-used-30-bitcoin-transactions-first-time\/\" target=\"_blank\">SegWit<\/a>,<br> a block-weight optimization solution,<br> has not only <a href=\"http:\/\/bitcoinist.com\/bitcoin-fees-drop-low-undermine-bcash\/\" target=\"_blank\">eased some of the costs<\/a> for now,<br> but also opened the door for developers to work on layer-two scaling projects.<\/p><div><img src=\"https:\/\/ohiobitcoin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/XLa8Yz.jpg\" alt=\"lightning\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\"><br><p>Lightning network mainnet<\/p><\/div><p>Specifically,<br> the <a href=\"http:\/\/bitcoinist.com\/lightning-network-mainnet-1000-nodes\/\" target=\"_blank\">Lightning Network<\/a>,<br> as well as other optimizations in the pipeline,<br> such as <a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinist.com\/confidential-transactions-bitcoin-charlie-lee\/\" target=\"_blank\">Confidential Transactions<\/a>,<br> <a href=\"http:\/\/bitcoinist.com\/technique-improve-bitcoin-confidentiality-bulletproofs\/\" target=\"_blank\">Bulletproofs<\/a>,<br> and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.bitcoin.it\/wiki\/Schnorr\" target=\"_blank\">Schnorr Signatures<\/a>,<br> are expected to make Bitcoin transactions cheaper,<br> faster,<br> and more private in the not-too-distant future.<\/p><h3>Hash Rate Is at Record Highs<\/h3><p>The Bitcoin network hash rate has been constantly climbing to the current record highs. Hash rate is the estimated number of tera hashes per second (trillions of hashes per second) the Bitcoin<b> <\/b>network is performing. In other words,<br> it measures the amount of computing power Bitcoin is using.<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/ohiobitcoin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/lLKxYo.png\" alt=\"Bitcoin hash rate\" width=\"640\" height=\"328\"><\/p><p>The current rate is at around 25 million TH\/s \u2013 a massive amount of computing power. In fact,<br> the computing power required to successfully <a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoin.org\/en\/glossary\/51-percent-attack\" target=\"_blank\">attack<\/a> the Bitcoin network doesn\u2019t even exist,<br> making it the most secure and immutable peer-to-peer cryptocurrency network in the world.<\/p><p>\u201cBitcoin has achieved a level of computing that no single nation state can overthrow it through computation alone,<br>\u201d explains Andreas Antonopoulos.<\/p><blockquote><p>Andreas Antonopoulos \u2013 51% <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Bitcoin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Bitcoin<\/a> Attack <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4YcAkHSY6W\">pic.twitter.com\/4YcAkHSY6W<\/a><\/p><p>\u2014 Dennis Parker⚡️ (@Xentagz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Xentagz\/status\/967432856745193473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 24,<br> 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><h3>It\u2019s Still Here<\/h3><p>Bitcoin has been around since 2009. Even mainstream media outlets like Bloomberg have called it a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/view\/articles\/2017-12-11\/bitcoin-is-a-bit-of-a-miracle-at-any-price\" target=\"_blank\">bit of a miracle at any price<\/a>.\u201d<\/p><p>Who would have imagined that a <a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoin.org\/bitcoin.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">whitepaper<\/a>,<br> written by a pseudonymous author,<br> and then brought to life by some of the most <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hal_Finney_(computer_scientist)\" target=\"_blank\">brilliant minds<\/a> the world has ever known,<br> would not only have such an impact on the world,<br> but would also turn the entire concept of money on its head?<\/p><blockquote><p>Running bitcoin<\/p><p>\u2014 halfin (@halfin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/halfin\/status\/1110302988?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 11,<br> 2009<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><p>Measuring the success of this groundbreaking technology solely by price is missing the point. It is much more. Bitcoin\u2019s creator(s) certainly knew this,<br> which is why we will probably never know Satoshi Nakamoto\u2019s true identity. The message in the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.bitcoin.it\/wiki\/Genesis_block\" target=\"_blank\">genesis block<\/a> does give us some clue to the true intention,<br> however.<\/p><p>At the same time,<br> it has been running,<br> uninterrupted,<br> for nearly a decade now. It has died a <a href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/bitcoinobituaries\/\" target=\"_blank\">hundred deaths<\/a>,<br> and yet,<br> it\u2019s still here. Everyday,<br> it\u2019s empowering individuals to be their own bank,<br> eliminating dependence on banks,<br> politicians,<br> and centrally-planned monetary policies.<\/p><p>Previously,<br> the world has never known such a borderless,<br> apolitical,<br> and neutral form of money. It is an idea who\u2019s time has come.<\/p><p><strong><em>Will Bitcoin continue to grow or is this technology just a fad? Share your thoughts below.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><hr><p><em>Images courtesy of Blockchain.info,<br> Coin.dance,<br> Shutterstock,<br> Twitter\/@Xentagz,<br> and Twitter\/@halfin.<\/em><\/p><p><em>Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Bitcoinist.com. Claims made in this article do not constitute investment advice and should not be taken as such.<\/em><\/p><a href=\"http:\/\/bitcoinist.com\/tag\/bitcoin-2\/\">bitcoin<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/bitcoinist.com\/tag\/bitcoin-nodes\/\">Bitcoin Nodes<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/bitcoinist.com\/tag\/bitcoin-transaction-volume\/\">Bitcoin transaction volume<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/bitcoinist.com\/tag\/bitcoin-wallets\/\">Bitcoin wallets<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/bitcoinist.com\/tag\/hash-rate\/\">Hash rate<\/a><a> Show comments <\/a><p> <\/p><br \/><br>Published at Thu,<br> 15 Mar 2018 12:00:17 +0000<\/p>Bitcoin<br \/><center><hr\/><em>Posted from my blog with <a href='https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/steempress\/'>SteemPress<\/a> : https:\/\/ohiobitcoin.com\/5-reasons-bitcoin-is-fundamentally-stronger-than-ever\/<\/em><hr\/><\/center>",<br>"json_metadata":" \"community\":\"steempress\",<br>\"app\":\"steempress\/1.1\",<br>\"tags\":[\"steempress\",<br>\"steem\" " | | comment_options | "author":"ohiobitcoin",
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