the us dollar is released by a government that has gone bankrupt on paper several times. but they are still standing. every other country would have gone bankrupt, but the us government not. very legit. bitcoin is a playing tool for whales, so you can't blame bitcoin for being volatile. that being said, the volatility is what makes bitcoin interesting for many people in the world.

the effect will be minimal (if any at all). there are other ways of getting the message of bitcoin to people. however, ask yourself this. would there be a positive impact on bitcoin when google start advertising bitcoin? probably a bit, but not so much in the way that we'll feel it when google removes the ads again.

i am a long term bull, but one with a realistic way of thinking. i am not expecting any miracles to happen in the last months of this year and the beginning of next year. as some people might say, it will be a boring time for those chasing volatility. of course from time to time we'll definitely have some action on the markets, but nothing as we have seen before.

$1500-$2000 is still too high to happen in 2017. especially because of the fact that there is no way we get rid of the constant selling pressure we are dealing with. in order to get rid of this selling pressure, or at least get it down to such a level where the price can breathe again, the demand by people must increase significantly. and this is exactly what i don't see happen in 2017.

no benefits indeed, but more for statistical purposes for what it's worth. actually, back in 2014 there has been a major news channel having done some research by asking people in the streets whether or not they know what bitcoin is. the people that have heard about it compared bitcoin with the tulip mania back then. they also said to not use bitcoin because they can't hold it in their hands like they do with cash money. that's ignorance from the highest levels.

research will lead to more guesses as exchanges and other popular services won't release any details about how many unique users they have. surveys online and in the streets won't do anything either as people can simply make up everything. especially when they get a small reward for completing the survey.

stability and volatility aside, the main problems are coming from people just buying at a certain price hoping it will go up. these people don't do any investigations about the price they are buying at. these people fit in the category yolo buyers. i have seen a lot people like these. once they have sold at a loss for whatever reason, they blame bitcoin for their own wrong doings... lol.

traders/whales are the one controlling the price. the decentralization aspect doesn't matter in this case. anyone can buy up the price with enough liquidity as anyone can freely purchase bitcoins through exchanges and other services.

the crypto market in general has always been unstable, so that's nothing new here. but even trading bitcoin comes with risks. especially when you don't know anything about trading. that's when the risk factor is even greater. nothing comes easy here.

it's quite easy to assume the price will go over $600 as we're not very far away from that price level right now. but don't forget about the selling pressure that we have to deal with. it's not directly visible to some people, but over a period of a few months you'll see that the price has been going lower and lower. i don't see this change any time soon.

not necessarily. especially with huge holders as chinese mining farms and current bitcoin whales. their coin count will only increase in the coming years. the volatility is something we will keep seeing for as long as bitcoin exists. i think it's great since volatility is what attracts fresh money. and fresh money coming in is needed to keep the market healthy and liquid.

actually, the chinese yuan dominates the trading volumes, and leaves the dollar far behind. the dollar comes second when it comes to trading volumes.

there are no skills involved in finding the right altcoins. you solely depend on luck when you put money into a certain altcoin, no matter how much "research" you have done.

bitcoin hasn't been any different. from the very beginning massive hacks and scams have been happening. it's not the first time, and definitely not the last time. i think what large investors is worrying, is that satoshi supposedly owns around one million coins. added, mark karpeles is also something for them to consider when putting their millions into bitcoin. regarding the adoption by the average joes, they prefer to use banks instead of bitcoin. an important reason for them is that bitcoin doesn't have a central authority. media saying that bitcoin is the underworld currency, etc. all that combined makes them worry.

that's how you think about it, no problem. however, the government here insures you an amount till €100,000. everything above that number will be lost in case a bank goes down. so definitely not everything is safe in a bank. how is that in your country?

the point is, people should stop talking about bitcoin to replace banks and stuff. it just doesn't make sense. bitcoin and banks can co-exist without any problems. just look at how we use bitcoin in todays world. yes, banks might be harsh on bitcoin, but that's normal. they see in bitcoin a potential threat for their way of doing business. bitcoin won't replace banks, it's not possible, and it will never happen.

people putting money in banks doesn't mean they are trusted. it's because they mostly don't have an other option. there are enough people around me disliking banks, but they all admit that they don't have much choice other than doing what they do. so far for them, there is no "better" alternative.

regardless of the economy performing good or bad, making sure you invest a good portion of your money is very crucial. especially when it comes to avoid being the victim of decreasing fiat currencies. of course, you have to find yourself a good investment option, but you'll be much better off in the long run than when you let your sleep in your bank account.

well, i am a trader myself, and i have to say that trading does bring in nice returns for me. especially when there is enough volatility. currently for this month i'm up like 5% in profits from trading. with enough volatility, i some times get to make profits ranging from 15-20% in just a month. trading with the current stability is difficult, but still doable. it costs more time, and the rewards are lower, but i prefer profit over everything.

gold will always remain very important when it comes to investments, but mainly the store of wealth aspect. but that doesn't mean the time is standing still. bitcoin is a great alternative for people looking for a long term storage solution with more than decent profits if bitcoin lives up to what people (realistically) expect from it. if i am given the option to receive $10,000 worth of gold or bitcoin, i will pick bitcoin without me having think a second about it.