Whereas it cannot be doubted that what was on Satoshi Nakamoto’s mind when he was inventing Bitcoin was certainly to create a digital currency for real-world application, that potential has eventually unfolded into reality but with some hardy limitations; the allure to criminal hand and long transaction confirmation procedures are some of them. The high price of Bitcoin has made world investors to see it as a store of value just like gold and hence are much inclined to store their money in it other than actually using it for regular transactions. This has unfortunately attracted criminal hands with an ever increasing magnitude of incidents of crime, related to Bitcoin. Reports emerged in May 2018 of a Bitcoin millionaire in St. Petersburg who killed himself after his £280k was stolen from his flat few days after posting bundles of cash on a social network.
Similarly besides its high value, the anonymous and untraceable nature of Bitcoin transactions makes it such a perfect currency for criminals. Bitcoin has attracted considerable adoption by criminal dealers on dark marketplaces using it as a convenient medium of exchange. From drug gangs in Spain, money launderers in the US, cyber-crime gangs in Russia to kidnappers in Turkey; all have found motivation and convenience in using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to complete their underworld transactions unnoticed. Just last December, Scotland Yard reported that Bitcoin was being “used by CRIMINALS to launder illicit funds.” Another research was published in January of 2018 in the Independent (UK), suggesting that “Bitcoin price is so high because criminals are using it for illegal trades”.
On another note, to increase payment security, the Bitcoin network has created a long transaction processing procedure. Transactions on Bitcoin-blockchain are recorded only once every 10 minutes, but it takes a standard period of 50 minutes more to wait for each new record to appear because the records frequently rollback. Assuming that we make conventional money to disappear and we all adopt Bitcoin as a universal currency, how would it feel to standard in a queue for one hour at your favorite store just to buy a snack?
While the invention of Bitcoin was a real breakthrough, the real limitation to full and mainstream adoption lies in difficult usability. Is it possible to keep cryptocurrency from criminal reach while maintaining its anonymous and untraceable transactions? Is it possible to break down its high price into handy amounts while preserving its value? Is it not possible to make its confirmation procedures in completing transactions quick enough to encourage mass adoption?
Let us be patient on this one. There is no need to rush and bitcoin is doing great nowadays so we should not push this that the government will think that we need them instead we will go lie low so that the government will come running to the system and put it to good order. After that the bitcoin system will go mainstream and again it take some time before it will happen.
