One of the main functions of the central bank is to manage their foreign exchange reserves. Reserves are an integral part of securing the currency obligations of states, and they also maintain confidence in the monetary and exchange rate policies of the government. Foreign exchange reserves are accumulated by purchasing foreign exchange in the spot market, conducting foreign exchange transactions in the foreign exchange market for investment and managing domestic liquidity in term and deposit accounts in foreign banks.
Nick Sabo (one of the earliest investors in Bitcoins, as well as, according to some representatives of the cryptocurrency community, “the real Satoshi Nakamoto”) believes that the current monetary policy stops responding to the demands of the time, so gold will soon give way to Bitcoin. (https://coinlife.com/news/nik-sabo-centralnye-banki-nachnut-sbrasyvat-zoloto-i-pokupat-kriptovaljuty/)
As far as this is true no one knows for sure, only time will tell. But there is a real chance that this will happen.

The crypto currency market is still developing. There are still no regulators to reduce market manipulation.
But let's not forget that Bitcoin was not created at all in order to be stable. Bitcoin was supposed to be an alternative to our current financial system. And this doesn't mean that its price should be stable.

I don't see your personal opinion about what you think about the material written in the article.
I think that China has a form of government that prohibits personal development beyond the control of the country, which is the reason for the prohibitions on the trading of crypto currencies for citizens. At the same time, the Chinese government is smart enough to understand the prospects for blockchain technology. Therefore, they are trying to integrate this technology into their banking system. In addition, we all know that many developers of different platforms and crypto currencies come from China.

China at the beginning of the XXI century is the first world industrial superpower in terms of industrial production, as well as space and nuclear power - it leads the world in the extraction of various ores, as well as wood. In the territory of the China, oil, gas and uranium are also being extracted on a significant scale.
China has 37% of the world's reserves of rare earth metals. As a result of significant investments in the 1980s in the extraction of these minerals, China now owns 95% of their world production.
China is the world's largest producer of the absolute majority of industrial products. In addition, China is the world's largest automaker. (description and translation from https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Экономика_КНР )

Large mining farms open in those regions where the energy balance is excessive and where electricity is cheap.
At the same time, there is no reliable method for estimating energy consumption for mining. In order to carry out the calculations correctly, you will need reliable data from data centers obtained from the miners themselves. But analysts have no such data. Therefore, no one can reliably assert.
Yes, mining really consumes very large amounts of electricity. But some mining companies use renewable sources for electricity production.A HydroMiner startup gets electricity from a hydroelectric power station. At the same time, the company pays only 4-6 cents per kWh, and earns $ 300,000 a month.
And energy costs all over the world are growing every year, so it’s not fair to blame only the work of miners o for all the troubles.

Of course, this will not happen as quickly as the OP suggests. Even if there are real reasons for in order for Bitcoin to disappear forever, it will still happen gradually, in several stages. Whales will not allow Bitcoin to disappear quickly, as it is not in their interest. They will need to sell their bitcoins.

But the most important thing is that now there are no prerequisites for the collapse of Bitcoin.

I think that discussing the crypto market we should not overstated stability. Stability is good in other markets, but few in the crypto market rely on stability. I would even say that the opposite is true; many rely on its instability, as this brings the main income.
I consider it altogether senseless to compare altcoins with bitcoins. Comparison of altcoins with each other is still valid, but Bitcoin...
Yes, different currencies, at different times, behave differently regarding  Bitcoin. But Bitcoin is Bitcoin, the main manipulations on the market occur precisely with this coin, so it will have distinctive exchange fluctuations from fluctuations of the altcoin rate.
Regarding centralized currencies, and more precisely ripple, I would like to note that this coin is really excellent. It is already used by many banks and in time, even more banks will begin to use it.

Any business that requires brain activity will cause difficulties for a beginner. But let's face it, if a person really wants it, then it’s easy to figure it out.
My friend's wife (my friend doesn't trade crypto currencies, that is, he didn't help her) after she realized that she wanted to trade crypto currencies, for 3 days she studied all the necessary basic information about crypto currencies, registered on the  exchange, found a way how she could enter money in there and bought currencies for them, which she considered promising at that time. No one helped her in this and she didn't receive any advice from anyone (besides to tips that she found on the internet). And at that time she was a mother of a 2 year old baby who was with her 24 hours a day. As a result, having bought crypto currency in October 2017, she very significantly increased her deposit in the coming months.
So even if a woman with a baby in her arms found a solution to all the initial problems of newbies when entering the crypto currency market, how can adult men complain that it is difficult for them to find a way to invest in crypto currency?
By the way, this wonderful woman still successfully trades crypto currencies, for a whole year she improved her skills and didn't despair that the market had become bearish. That is why she learned to trade very well and is now successfully making money.

Since the fall of Bitcoin (and all crypto currencies) was long, I assume that the recovery will also be long. I don't expect that in 2019 all currencies will restore their previous maximum prices. But I'm confident that in 2019 a positive movement will begin towards the recovery of the market and prices. And now I see 2020 as a more real year, for a full recovery of prices and subsequent growth to new heights.

What makes you think that it is so difficult to find out where you can buy Bitcoin? As for me it doesn't cause much difficulty. Of course, I admit that everyone has a different level of observation and ingenuity, perhaps this is the problem.
You can simply enter into Google search the question: "How and where to byu the crypto currency?" In the results, in addition to this information, you will immediately see a lot of introductory materials for beginners in crypto currencies.
And those who consider crypto currencies "dirty money", in my opinion, don't understand the essence of crypto currencies at all and why they are needed.

PS: If my post has offended you with something, please forgive me. That was not my goal. I just wanted to help you think more about crypto currencies, about their understanding and about your true goal in the crypto world.

I would not call it currency expansion, because in the end of forks you don’t get bitcoins. Despite any forks, true Bitcoin remains alone, original with an emission of 21 million, and this is unchanged.
There is no point in discussing all the bitcoin forks, since these are completely different coins with a completely different value.

Of course, hackers will always try to crack exchanges and wallets if this is possible for them. Some developers should be much smarter and better at testing their product before allowing people to use it.
It should also be noted that in most cases the users of the wallets themselves are to blame for the fact that their accounts are hacked. They are casual about security.

P.S.: bitcoin has never been hacked.

I'm sure that the absolute majority of investors will give up Bitcoin if it completely loses its value. I see nothing wrong with that. We are all here in order to benefit from crypto currencies (of course, many of us are delighted with technology, but this delight is with technology, not with specific coins). If something more valuable and convenient than Bitcoin appears, the majority will begin to use and accumulate a new coin.
No need to overestimate the role of Bitcoin in our lives. This is just a step on the path to the development of crypto currencies, so it is impossible to attribute the word "betrayal" to people who are currently using Bitcoin, but in the future, if Bitcoin loses its value, they will start using another currency.

I'm sure that the best lesson that can be learned from this bear market is that you need to make the right choice. I mean, here you are or an investor who knows how to properly diversify your investments and hedge risks or trader. Otherwise is not a valid option. And we all were convinced that it is. Thousands of pseudo traders have already sold their assets in minus and left the market. These people didn't want to make efforts in order to gain knowledge and experience. It was knowledge and experience that helped the others not to surrender, but to correctly dispose of their assets.

Your faith is of dubious nature. I would generally call it not faith, but sheer distrust. Give me one real reason why crypto currencies have come to an end.
If your belief is based only on the fact that there should be only an uptrend on the cryptocurrency market, and all market participants should only earn money, then this is clearly not the place for you.
Go down to earth from the clouds of your dreams and look at the crypto market and investments really, take off your rose-colored glasses. And it is then that you stop dreaming about the eternal bull run, and start to really look at things as an adult and start looking for ways to make money.

So it was and it continues. Major players gradually fill their wallets with promising crypto currencies. Weak small traders sell their assets at ridiculous prices without wanting to get profit. Because if they really wanted to get a profit, they would not sell their coins just like that. After all, there are ways by which you can continue to earn. The only thing needed for this is the desire to learn.

Need hold but wisely. If you just do nothing, all the time you are only losing profits, and this time wasted. Time is our most valuable resource, so you need to spend it wisely. While many "brave" (but I would call them scared) just hold, I trade and constantly make money on it. So spend your time learning so that you can trade and earn despite the market situation.
I would like to add that I'm not against those people who just bought cryptocurrency for a long-term investment and they don't care what the price of their assets over the next few years. These people have bet that their assets will grow in value in a few years and they deliberately don't want to waste their time and efforts on learning to trade.
Another thing is when people consider themselves traders, but at the same time when the market has ceased to be bullish, they were frightened and decided to hold. To such people, I can say that every fool can make money on the bullish market and real traders make money in any market.

If this hypothetical situation were, then I would invest 100% of my deposit in Ripple.
There are several reasons for this.
1. Ripple is actually used by  banks. That is, Ripple is the evolution of the banking system with its transition to cryptography. This means that Ripple has a real practical application in the financial sector, which means that the value of the XRP coin has a fundamental basis.
2. Instant transactions.
3. Ability to cancel a transaction.
4. To maintain network don't need miners.
And since the coin has such characteristics, I believe that this coin, today, has every chance of becoming one of the most popular in the near future.

News has always had a big impact on everything and this is natural. And in the world of crypto currencies, this is especially noticeable. All of us, participants in the crypto market, just have to take this fact into account. Yes, here we will need a good understanding  of the crypto world, in order to assess the news and their influence on the market impartially.
In my opinion, for trading crypto currencies is important to learn how to work according to plan. If you have a plan in which the points of buying and selling are written, then you can minimize the influence of emotions on your decisions.

I periodically look at the prices on the https://coinmarketcap.com. Only if I created an order, then I try to watch the price more often. In general, to date, cryptocurrency is not the cause of my strong thrills. I create a plan in advance and follow it during the transaction.

Your assumption about the Bitcoin price equal to 0 is erroneous, as you yourself could already be sure. I don’t think that this option is possible in the near future. Everything indicates that over time the cost of Bitcoin will only grow. The current situation further confirms that the interest of large investors in Bitcoin continues to grow. That is why the necessary conditions are now being created for their money to enter the market.