Putin will have to decide whenever he wants his country to collapse due to economic pressure or all the other way around. Bitcoin may be an alternative to help restore the Russian economy, but it's not the only option available. With Russia's own natural reserves and strong alliances with China, it's possible the country will rise again back to its former glory (if it ever does). Bitcoin's been going downhill recently, so there's no rush for Russia to approve its use anytime soon. Even if Russia never legalizes Bitcoin, the government can still use it in secret.

For what I know, Bitcoin doesn't need the approval of countries in order to survive. What matters is how many people support the blockchain so that it can stand the test of time. With many nodes and miners supporting the network, it's likely Bitcoin will last a lifetime. Just my opinion

Exactly. Most people don't even have the resources to access Bitcoin, so it's unlikely adoption for the cryptocurrency will grow within the short term. El Salvador's government should've built the necessary infrastructure in order to make people adopt Bitcoin in mass. I hope businesses and merchants in the country adopt Bitcoin as their main currency of choice to help contribute to the cause. The market is bearish right now, so it's going to take some time before people in El Salvador become interested in Bitcoin. At least, the government is buying the dip. Who knows if BTC's next All-time-high in price turns El Salvador into a developed country in the future? Just my thoughts

The FED, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war between Russia and Ukraine have negatively affected both cryptocurrency and stock market prices. Everything is going downhill in an instant as we enter a global economic recession. As the OP stated, this is all similar to the events of 2018. The crypto market is extremely bearish these days, as major cryptocurrencies fall massively in price like there's no tomorrow.

If you're smart, you'd accumulate as much coins as you can before everything goes back up again. Experts predict Bitcoin will reach $100k in the future, so buying BTC and altcoins now will leave you with substantial profits by then. Crypto was never about the money anyways, so as long as it works as intended, nothing else matters. Just my opinion

That's certainly true, mate. It's likely decentralized stablecoins will take over the industry, as government pressure mounts over centralized alternatives. Once CBDCs are launched, there will be no need for a centralized stablecoin backed by a separate entity. After all, CBDCs will serve the same purpose as any ordinary stablecoin. Even though decentralized stablecoins will be around with us for a long time, I don't think they'll be largely adopted by people worldwide simply because they're unable to maintain their peg for a long time.

Consider how UST (Terra's stablecoin) lost its peg because of the massive downfall in BTC's price. Not only UST, but other decentralized stablecoins like Neutrino USD and NuBits have experienced the same issue in the past. If this persists, people may only cash out crypto directly to a CBDC to enjoy the full benefits of a stable currency. Ultimately, it's all about utility. As long as crypto remains useful, nothing else matters. Just my thoughts

There's a reason why altcoins are called "shitcoins". That's because they can't match Bitcoin's level of decentralization, reliability, and censorship-resistance. It's not about what shiny new features a coin has or how cheap and fast transactions are, but rather how secure and resilient the coin is as an alternative to the existing banking system. With a stable and reliable blockchain network, people can transact comfortably just like they would with an ordinary bank (or even better).

Who would want to rely on an unstable blockchain like Solana for sending large amounts of money? The more the network outages, the more people will distrust Solana. Developers need to take things seriously if they want the project to succeed in the long run. The first step towards a better future is eliminating the risk of centralization. Otherwise, Solana won't last for long. With many disappointments surrounding SOL, it's likely people will switch back to ETH once the PoS upgrade comes into effect. Who knows if the same will happen with other altcoins with smart contract features? Just my opinion

Governments are the ones preventing Bitcoin from reaching mass adoption worldwide. They don't want Fiat to lose ground, so they'll put obstacles in order to minimize Bitcoin's usage as much as possible. Even though El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender, not many people are using it because most merchants and businesses only accept Fiat as payment method. Without some sort of benefit to spend Bitcoin, how would people be motivated to use it in the first place?

I wouldn't worry about Bitcoin's limited adoption worldwide as long as it works as intended. Decentralization is what it's all about in order to bring banking to the unbanked. Since Bitcoin can't be stopped, governments' efforts against it will be futile. Adoption will surely increase in the future as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies mature as an asset class. But this will be at a slow and steady phase because of the reasons mentioned before. Who knows what lies ahead for Bitcoin within a decade from now? Just my thoughts

Very interesting observation. There seems to be some series of price fluctuations in Gold, even though it gave us the illusion of stability. Anything that's speculative or traded on the open market is prone to wild fluctuations in price. Bitcoin is not exempt from this rule. While the pioneer cryptocurrency has achieved a lot over the years, it's still relatively new to the mainstream world. There are a lot of things to be improved in order for Bitcoin to become a "force to reckon" with.

Fortunately, we have stablecoins to save us during a "rainy day". As long as you're able to make a profit regardless of Bitcoin's price, nothing else matters. Just my opinion

Criminals use Fiat more than crypto for money laundering activities. But governments keep pushing the narrative that crypto is used for illegal purposes in order to lure people away from it. Can you imagine what will happen if people began using crypto on top of Fiat? Governments and central banks will lose power, putting an end to bureaucracy for good. These entities still want to stay in power, so they'll do everything they can to spread misinformation and false propaganda against crypto in order to minimize its use in the mainstream world. As long as decentralization prevails, there should be nothing to worry about. Who knows if crypto gets to live alongside Fiat for generations? Just my thoughts

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Couldn't agree more with you, mate. Slowly but surely, Bitcoin's adoption worldwide will increase as people try to find alternative ways to escape from inflation. The more worthless Fiat becomes, the more people will be inclined to Bitcoin. Governments are already seeing the benefits of holding Bitcoin in the long term, especially when it's designed with deflation in mind. If this keeps up, we might see the whole world using Bitcoin at a large scale (hyperbitcoinization). As long as decentralization wins in the long run, there will be nothing to worry about. Just my opinion

Waiting for days in order to withdraw your staking rewards is usually applicable to DPoS coins and "De-Fi" smart contracts. But the same rule doesn't apply to average PoS coins like Peercoin, Blackcoin, Reddcoin, and Diamond. In these type of coins, you're responsible of leaving the wallet open at all times in order to earn staking rewards. You can cash out anytime you like, making them extremely convenient if you need the money in a hurry.

The problem with staking is that your rewards are entirely dependent on the number of people staking on the network and current market price. If there are a lot of stakers on the network, your reward will be low. Same goes with market price if it goes all the way down the drain. I'd do both staking and mining just to minimize as much risks as possible. As long as you don't invest more than what you can't afford to lose, you'll have nothing to worry about. Just my thoughts

Bitcoin is also tangible since people can print a paper wallet which contains the private key or seed to access it anytime, anywhere. Not only that, but there are also physical coins loaded with Bitcoin on them. Carrying one of these with you is no different than carrying physical Gold or Silver bullion.

Now that the Blockchain is becoming extremely popular, Gold is being "digitized" in order to provide people with better portability and divisibility. A token like Paxos Gold enables you to carry Gold with you in a digital manner across borders. It's the best of both worlds, if you ask me. While precious metals and crypto are completely different things, we cannot deny the fact that Bitcoin has outperformed every other asset/commodity on Earth. Investing more into Bitcoin than Gold or Silver makes sense based on its previous market performance. With inflation on the rise, who would ignore these assets in the first place? Just my opinion

That is correct. But with the pandemic still in play, it looks like we're living an eternity to be honest. I'd wait a few more years to see how Bitcoin's adoption would progress within the region. As long as the government does its part to provide the tools necessary for adoption, Bitcoin will become largely successful as an alternative to Fiat within the country.



I fail to see how people in the Central African Republic will adopt Bitcoin as a medium of exchange since most of them are poor with very limited resources. If the government wants people to adopt Bitcoin, it's going to need to provide the tools necessary to do so. Maybe something like giving Internet access for free with a smartphone will suffice? Unless there's the infrastructure for making digital payments within the country, only the wealthy will use Bitcoin while the rest will carry on with their lives using Fiat.

If only developed countries like the US, UK, and even Japan adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, things would've been different. But it's unlikely they'll do it since their economic situation is pretty good. For now, it seems that only developing countries or countries with a bad economic situation will adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. Let's see how everything will turn out to be in the future as Bitcoin continues to grow in popularity worldwide.

Exactly. Governments hate Bitcoin because of its decentralized and censorship-resistant design. The reason why central banks and governments are planning to create digital currencies of their own is to gain more control over people's financial activities. After all, it's impossible to keep track of every transaction performed with Fiat at its current state (especially when it relates to transactions performed with paper money).

With CBDCs, privacy would be over as everything will be highly visible in the government-controlled "blockchain". The pandemic is changing our society in ways that we've never imagined, accelerating the adoption of digital payments at a large scale. Who knows if we're closer to a cashless society than we've ever thought? Just my thoughts

While Bitcoin has gained some level of exposure worldwide, there's still a lot of people who haven't heard about or even used it before. With so many things to be discovered and improved within the crypto/Blockchain ecosystem, I'd say you're still early to join the Bitcoin train. I strongly believe Bitcoin will hit a million dollars someday because of its past market performance. Not only that, but Bitcoin is the best-performing asset on Earth. With built-in deflation and decentralized design, there's every reason for Bitcoin to reach new All-time-highs in price as time goes by.

I'd say get into Bitcoin while the market is bearish (going down in price) before prices starting going up at a very fast pace. The hype has temporarily faded away as people are focused on other events in the mainstream world. If you take this opportunity, you will largely benefit in the future. Ultimately, it's your decision. Do your own research and you'll see what I mean.

That's certainly true, mate. Bitcoin does have value because people gives it value. Being a decentralized cryptocurrency no one can stop, does come with its benefits. With deflation built into the protocol, there's every reason for Bitcoin to be as valuable as it is right now. Believe me, you haven't seen anything yet as the best is yet to come. Once CBDCs come into play, demand for Bitcoin will be higher. That's because people will be seeking privacy and freedom when they won't be able to find it on a CBDC.

We're still in the early phase of digital currency adoption, so I'd recommend anyone to buy as much Bitcoin as possible before it's too late. Just my opinion

Exactly. Crypto, as well as any other technology, is a double-edged sword. It can be used for both good and bad things. This is no different than the Internet where anyone can do anything they want. It'll be up the government to enforce the rule of law in order to prevent as much criminal activity as possible. What I see is just another excuse from governments to stop people from using crypto altogether. After all, they don't want to lose control over people's finances. The more crypto is adopted worldwide, the less dominance Fiat will have.

Expect to see constant opposition against crypto/Blockchain tech because of its decentralized and censorship-resistant design. We shouldn't be worried about this as long as decentralization wins in the long run. Who knows if crypto manages to live alongside Fiat for generations? Just my thoughts

As it's always said, "history repeats itself". We're witnessing the events of 2018 where crypto was in a bearish period with no signs of recovery. This usually happens after a period of hype where investors sell their coins in mass to make a quick buck. Newcomers into crypto are the ones left in despair since they invested when crypto was soaring towards new heights. If only they knew how the crypto market truly works, they would've made profits even during a bear market.

Believe me, this is nothing but temporary as the best is yet to come. Bitcoin is predicted to go all the way towards $100k per coin, so there's a high probability altcoins will rise like skyrocket once that happens. Buying coins now would be the wisest decision to make. As long as you don't invest more than what you can't afford to lose, you'll have nothing to worry about. Just my opinion

That's what you get with a "Blockchain" that puts its focus on speed and cost-efficiency instead of security/reliability/decentralization. Becoming a secure blockchain while providing high performance to everyday people is nothing but impossible. I'm afraid Solana will become a failed experiment due to the constant network outages and heavily-centralized design. There's a reason why ETH hasn't moved from its position as the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap (even when fees are extremely high and transactions take a long time to confirm). The unmatched security, reliability and decentralization inherent within the ETH blockchain has kept it as the leader of altcoins since its inception.

Until the competition is able to beat Ethereum in terms of security while providing higher performance in return, I don't see it going anywhere soon. Let's hope the ETH 2.0 upgrade becomes successful in order to strip away the competition. Who knows if the number of smart contract platforms is reduced over time as the hype slowly fades away into oblivion? Just my thoughts

You can certainly be more anonymous using a decentralized exchange. Yet, decentralized exchanges have some limitations that often makes centralized exchanges a better choice for newcomers into crypto. Without centralized exchanges, I don't think crypto will be as widely adopted worldwide as it is right now. A lack of centralized exchanges means that crypto/Blockchain tech is completely illegal to use anywhere in the world. While this is unlikely to happen soon, we should be prepared in case it does.

I wouldn't say centralized exchanges offer a better type of security, since they're easily subject to hacks, theft, and manipulation. Decentralized exchanges can be hacked too, but the risk is lower because you and only you control the keys to your crypto. The industry is just starting to blossom, so we should give it some time to mature in the mainstream world. Just my thoughts