Category: Bitcoin

Why Zimbabwe Locals Can’t Get Enough of Bitcoin

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Everyone knows that Bitcoin is a safe haven for those who live in countries with political turmoil because the government can’t control it. Citizens of Zimbabwe are far from trusting their own government due to their unreliable political leaders.

Just last week the price of one bitcoin hit $13000 (USD) which is astonishingly almost double the international market price. This sudden rise in demand can be attributed to the news that president Robert Mugabe was put under house arrest by military leaders.

As political turmoil increases in Zimbabwe, the price of Bitcoin can only keep growing as the people lose faith in their government controlled local currency and financial companies. Bitcoin is by far their best option as a storage of value that guarantees security.

It was reported that the top Zimbabwe cryptocurrency exchange, Golix, had processed trading volumes of more than $1 million this past month which is a record breaking number for the country. In these 30 days alone, it had beat the 2016 year by almost tenfold.

“It is an unregulated platform and prices for bitcoin and other currencies are set by supply and demand”
– Taurai Chinyamakobvu, co-owner of Golix

Zimbabwe has always had an issue with currency inflation and it was not until 2009 that hyperinflation made the Zimbabwean dollar worthless. With no local currency, they have been forced to use US dollars and South African rand. It’s safe to say that more and more citizens will slowly transition to cryptocurrencies as global presence increases.

It is likely that Zimbabwe is only one of the many countries where its people will see huge value in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that allow them to be in control of their own money. Although he advantages of the digital coin are obvious, it’s difficult to say what will happen in the future in terms of possible regulations and bans.

The Story Behind the Rise and Fall of Bitcoin Cash

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“Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash will coexist and serve different cases, just like Bitcoin and Ethereum. It is not a zero-sum game. Work on building your project, not on destroying the other,” that was what Bitcoin and security expert, Andreas Antonopoulos had to say to affirm the fact that Bitcoin Cash indeed has a market share based on its ability to serve immediate payments and short-term scaling. This comes after Xapo president Ted Rogers declared that the recent price trend exhibited by the cryptocurrency was not sustainable. But where did this all start?

In an unexpected twist, Bitcoin Cash soared to an all-time high price of $2800 on November 12 – a situation that made the three-month-old cryptocurrency the sole beneficiary of the SegWit2x hard fork cancellation. Nevertheless, this glorious achievement was short-lived with Bitcoin Cash struggling to sustain the upward momentum of its price which eventually dropped to $1100 in just a couple of days. Luckily for Bitcoin Cash users and traders, the price has stabilized at around $1110 as of now.

The collapse of the SegWit2x plan that was potentially the main cause for the dramatic pump in Bitcoin Cash’s price has been attributed to the lack of consensus among Bitcoin community members. There have been varying opinions regarding the future of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash with some still portraying an element of optimism while others expecting worse scenarios considering the over 50% retrace that the currency experienced earlier. The high prices of cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, have attracted millions of users who may or may not be savvy with the concepts revolving around these. The result, especially among the less savvy cryptocurrency users has culminated in the form of confusion which makes matters even worse. In fact, some cannot even tell the difference between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash – which leads us to the unpleasant reality that awaits. So, what can we expect?

According to Auxesis Group chairman and Cashaa founder Kumar Gaurav, “The quick rise [of BCH] from around 600 to 2400 USD in a few days makes it look like a typical artificial pump which was already being followed by a dump back to $1300 USD within 30 min. As compared to the FX market, the crypto market is still small, it is easy to do that and cannot be used to estimate the future of BTC vs BCC.” He further adds that unlike Bitcoin which has already surpassed a lot of expectations, Bitcoin Cash still has a long way to go before its growth in the long term can be estimated.

Divergent opinions suggest that there is still room for both flavors of Bitcoin to co-exist thanks to the increasing number of cryptocurrency users. In Hoskinson’s words, “Bitcoin Cash seems to be a productive split with its existence neither threatening Bitcoin’s nor requiring support from Bitcoin’s remaining adherents. Now Bitcoin is free to provide its small-block vision and cash the large block. My hope is that this will reduce fighting in the long run as both sides realize that the other isn’t going away. Just like we did with Ethereum and Ethereum classic.”

 

Bitcoin Passes $7990 and Reaches a New All-Time High

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It’s been a great week for Bitcoin since it took a dive towards the $5500s after the Bitcoin Cash weekend pump. It has since showed an immense recovery with an increase of $41 billion in market cap and a price of $7990 which is a new all-time high.

Before touching distance of $8000, Bitcoin suffered a slight pullback to the mid 7500s this Friday afternoon but is already on it’s way back towards the next price target.

It’s been an incredibly wild few weeks for all cryptocurrencies as a whole due to the controversy between BTC and BCH after the cancellation of SegWit2x for Bitcoin core which has essentially created a divide between the crypto community. The integration of SegWit2x aimed to increase transaction speeds to support the increasing number of users.

Although the previous all-time high for Bitcoin was likely due to the SegWit2x hard fork and the idea of free Bitcoin Gold, the market price has stabilized in the high $7000 range ready to break new records in the last quarter of 2017.

This recovery from the heavy sell-off last weekend proved that Bitcoin, as per usual, will always bounce back higher than before no matter what obstacles are thrown at it.