Crypto's economic value is surprisingly low :'(

[BrianZAK]

Depending on one's perspective, huge progress has been made. Moving from practically being a novelty (desktop mining and buying a pizza for 10,000BTC) to becoming 0.4% of the world's money in approximately a decade is pretty amazing. Bitcoin and blockchain are household names now and there are a lot of great projects are going on with some of the most innovative minds in computer science  putting their weight behind them.

There is much more to come. Imagine what we'll see 10 years from now.

[tyz]

"Stock market capitalization as percent of GDP, 2018 - Country rankings: The average for 2018 based on 63 countries was 70.95 percent."
(Taken from the Global economy)

To put this in perspective, the oldest stock market goes as far back as the 16th century and the wall street market was established around 1792 IIRC. Bitcoins' Genesis block was mined in 2009.

This post wins the thread. Bitcoiners need to exercise some patience.

In 2017, the BTC market reached almost 5% of the size of the gold market. After existing for 8 years. That's incredible to me, beyond all expectations.

-snip-

However, you should not forget that these are digital assets which take less time to be economically mature. Comparing this with gold, which has been valuable for millennia, is a bad comparison. It's like comparing Google with a gold mine operator.

The reason, in my opinion, for the small value of crypto economics is simply the still bad use for payments. There is still no way 11 years after Bitcoin was developed to pay with cryptocurrencies at low free cost and stable prices. I paid my hosting bill with Bitcoin on Friday and paid almost $ 2 in fees. Not acceptable for mainstream usage.

Besides that, I wouldn't trust the numbers anyway. Most of the crypto economy is invisible and happens underground. The numbers do not reflect this.

[beerlover]

I understand that people expect patience from bitcoin and I get that but you are forgetting we are living in a much more technological world nowadays. It means if you look at the stocks markets and how old they date, it doesn't mean anything, from 18th century to late 20th century the technology for them wasn't computer, it wasn't even proper mailing system for a long time, it was all old systems that could be abused and all that.

But in crypto world it has always been high tech and from now on, in the 100 years after the discovery of bitcoin, we are going to be a species that could habitat space, it is totally different periods. Hence why bitcoin has to move a lot faster than the stock market did, we can't wait around for hundreds of years to see bitcoin become big.

[davis196]

I'm not surprised that the crypto economy is surprisingly small.
How can we increase the popularity of cryptocurrencies:
1.Make the process of buying BTC and altcoins as easy and cheap as possible.NO ID verification,no insane fees.
2.Incentivize more online and offline merchants to accept cryptocurrency payments.I don't how we can achieve that.
3.Educate more people on social media.Explain them that cryptocurrencies are not a scam(at least the big ones,not the shitcoins/tokens),while there might be some scams in the crypto world.

[Latviand]

There is much more to come. Imagine what we'll see 10 years from now.

10,000 years from now of course is a long time to predict what will happen with bitcoin and economic system. At that time perhaps something more innovative could have been added to bitcoin or the financial system. Who knows if the world will pass the 5G tech too 

You're exaggerating it, 10,000 years is impossible, maybe in 10 years, bitcoin is already improved and innovated by the people behind it. Predictions are good so that you will a future vision about the thing that was for a long-term investment. But you predictions should have basis so that it is somehow feasible and can occur in reality.

Right now, we are suffering but I know that this crash in crypto's economic value will soon be resolved, just like bitcoin, it is volatile in the market and there's really a chance of recovering from its downward movement. Patience is really necessary for us to become prepared and ready.

Being prepared and ready when the crypto's economic value recovered can really give you profit and become more comfortable about your assets.

[hatshepsut93]

1.Make the process of buying BTC and altcoins as easy and cheap as possible.NO ID verification,no insane fees.

There's work going on with developing DEXs, but we don't know how would governments react to them if they would to get popular. Maybe they would try to shut them down if they will feel like it undermines their financial power.

2.Incentivize more online and offline merchants to accept cryptocurrency payments.I don't how we can achieve that.

Volatility is the biggest problem for merchants, until it's gone it will be too hard for merchants to accept BTC.

3.Educate more people on social media.Explain them that cryptocurrencies are not a scam(at least the big ones,not the shitcoins/tokens),while there might be some scams in the crypto world.

I don't think a lot of people perceive Bitcoin that way, most just think it's too risky and complicated.

[shoreno]

There is much more to come. Imagine what we'll see 10 years from now.

10,000 years from now of course is a long time to predict what will happen with bitcoin and economic system. At that time perhaps something more innovative could have been added to bitcoin or the financial system. Who knows if the world will pass the 5G tech too 

10 years bro , thats what he said not 10k years lol thats alot  .  when you say 10k years do you think you will reach that year ? we that here on this forum cant even reach 1k years but how much more if thats 10k years   .

you also mention 5g technology  . for that , this wont take more time because there are now devices that have this technology but those only high end  ,  wait for few more years and we all can convert on it  . 

[Lucius]

If only the value of BTC in relation to fiat or gold is important, then we are in trouble for the simple reason that we are practically worthless when comparing BTC with all other markets. OP opinion is very common, not only among ordinary users, but also among the big players who will reportedly join the BTC project only when it reaches the $1 trillion market cap.

But while it may sound strange, Bitcoin is much more than the value we measure in gold or fiat, it is a technology that surpasses them both in any sense, a new age technology that is just beginning to seriously penetrate current financial systems. Ordinary people find it difficult to accept because it is still a bit complicated, and those who rule the world have always aspired to a centralized system and have nightmares of power really passing into the hands of the people.

Although some disagree that Bitcoin is still in its early stages, I would not agree that it was possible to achieve more in just 11 years of existence, which is realistically a very short period of time. It is my opinion that Bitcoin should be understood primarily as a technology of the future, and not just as a means of getting rich quick.

[Bezobraznike]

The value of crypto is low but if we will increase the demand for crypto by doing the proper thing then the economy will rise People got to be taught about the utilization of crypto if the worth of currencies increases if they create more profit by investing, then everyone will add crypto and therefore the value of crypto will increase tons Gradually crypto will become very fashionable. the entire world will support crypto Crypto is going to be employed both offline and online. Social media is more helpful in publicity.

   I agree with you, this low just shows how much we can grow in the future. With more people joining and
more adoption crypto-currencies economic value will grow. If with this prices we have now are low, what
prices we expect in the future when crypto-currencies economy grows? Can we really expect Bitcoin at
million dollars and Ethereum at 100k? Or I am just dreaming? Can that happen in the next 10 years?

[googol.star]

.07 percent is still quite a large number. And it means it has a lot of room for growth.

[TheUltraElite]

Bitcoin is still in its baby steps if that is what you mean to say, I would agree. Now the acceptance of bitcoin is gradually growing but the world economy takes a lot of time to change from one mode to another, we should be happy that bitcoin has reached these figures already.

Huge numbers would not happen so quickly. As time passes on we have seen more merchants accepting bitcoin and more countries allowing bitcoin to be traded without blanket bans compared to other countries. This is why we can optimistic about the future acceptance and usage of bitcoin.

However that does not mean that bitcoin will turn the tables to banks. Nope, the banks and hedge funds are way more clever to understand and predict this and they will be accumulating bitcoin too in order to gain market control.

[DoubleEdgeEX]

That´s why it so crucial to work out real life use cases that have a positive impact on a majority of the global populaton. Beside that, education and spreading out basic knowledge is just as important. The more people understand it, the more people will use it. The car also needed time to establish itself as a successor to the horse carriage, we need to give cryptos and blockchain more time

[abhiseshakana]

The government (at least in the US) and most western nations don't do this though, they don't stop people from using cryptocurrencies. If everyone in the US -- consumers and business people - wanted to start using crypto for their transcations, they could. The problem lies in the fact that people don't want to use them for many reason: some of these are as follows

1. They're not educated on cryptocurrencies and they think it's too intricate to use, which for some I could see how that is the case. Some older person who runs their diner would much rather swipe a credit card then try to manage their crypto wallet and their keys and so on. The best thing to do is teach people about the savings (not paying 1-3% to a CC processor and dealing with chargebacks)

2. Fees are a bit too high and the crypto is a bit too volatile - People don't want to deal with this, and there most likely isn't enough adoption to even warrant businesses setting up the infrastructure to accept crypto.

But yes, the value is pretty low and I do hope this changes.

The USA government does not prohibit cryptocurrency from being traded but government sentiment towards cryptocurrency also affects people's thinking. This is where we see the role of the state as crucial because the state is seen as a guarantor of the interests of the people.

In addition, we must recognize that payment using L/C is the safest for cross-border trade and the use of SWIFT is the fastest and relatively low cost of USD 40 with integrated network guarantees almost all over the world and also security. While bitcoin does have to admit that even in the process of transferring for cross-border transactions it can eliminate the role of third parties. But the parties still need a third party as a verifier (independent surveyor) that each party has fulfilled its obligations and guarantor that each party will fulfill its obligations.

[leyton11]

This is completely normal. You should understand that this is a decentralized market, there is no law to protect traders or investors. Therefore, only a few people in this world participate in this crypto market. Therefore, bitcoin only accounts for very low value compared to the world's money. Due to so many disadvantages in controlling, many governments have banned people from participating in trade or paying for services with crypto. That is also the reason why the crypto market is unlikely to thrive.

[Leviathan.007]

Surprising?
I'm not surprised. Because the market is still way too young and it takes time for the crypto currencies market to get some more value on it.
Maybe in the next 10-15 years or sooner you will be surprised about the market cap. But it needs some time to be known, recognized and trusted by more people.

[AniviaBtc]

I understand that people expect patience from bitcoin and I get that but you are forgetting we are living in a much more technological world nowadays. It means if you look at the stocks markets and how old they date, it doesn't mean anything, from 18th century to late 20th century the technology for them wasn't computer, it wasn't even proper mailing system for a long time, it was all old systems that could be abused and all that.

But in crypto world it has always been high tech and from now on, in the 100 years after the discovery of bitcoin, we are going to be a species that could habitat space, it is totally different periods. Hence why bitcoin has to move a lot faster than the stock market did, we can't wait around for hundreds of years to see bitcoin become big.

They are really forgetting that bitcoin is volatile, if you're knowledgeable about it and you know and seek information about the effect of bitcoin in the market, you will not be shocked about that. Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin can also go down and it depends on you on how you can get recover from that situation. It is not about the timing it is about how fast the technology is advancing, you need to cope up with the reality that we're in the time where cryptocurrencies are really known and there are a lot of people who are engaging to it to manipulate it in the market. Now, we're really patient about its price and we're not making it hard for the economy to become stable. Just be patient all the time and take care of your assets in the market.

[jostorres]

Just like an upcoming hoping to become famous overnight while they have not even put out any much work yet. You know that you shouldn’t be comparing gold and BTC in this right? Gold has been around for ages, when did we get Bitcoin? Just for a decade and a few years and you’re already expecting that Bitcoin will cover up a hundred percent? You have chill out mehn things are not done this way. It takes time.

I don’t understand why a lot of people worry in this forum about unnecessary things. No matter how small it is, there are people who are strong supporters of BTC and they are happy with it.

[STT]

Gold was the backing for all currency not that long ago and that past might once again be the future if FIAT were to fail.  If BTC is some percentage of gold market now while its still just an untracked commodity not a currency asset then its quite an achievement, I presume if golds future is to return to greatness and back world trade then BTC also could be part of that.    Even if there was no growth, being part of that return to solid standards over the current debt notes issued by politics not production that is a noble place for crypto to be.    If BTC does grow as it appears it will then we've got a great trajectory ahead and this is still the beginning.
  Obviously gold does vary greatly from BTC but they could both be considered a kind of commodity, gold has its use as an element and inert security known quality and quantity of that value and BTC is a security commodity in a modern digital economy especially relevant to non physical goods imo.

[dentolas]

What would you expect? have you seen the global crypto market cap lately? a bit less than 300billionUSD... this is nothing in comparison with the money moved around by stocks, large businesses, etc...
And crypto users are a true minority...
I think that these factors put together will clearly show the danger something like Libra (with it's billions instant users) or the chinese national crypto currency can pose to BTC and to the existing crypto market....

[FlightyPouch]

0.4, 1.6, and 0.7. It seems low but comparing these is just unfair considering the times they have. Bitcoin can still do much better, we still have a long time to run and I think that numbers would be doubled in the next few years. It now has millions and millions of users, what more if 1/7 or 1/8 of the total population of this world are already using it.