Has Bitcoin sold its soul to speculation?

[freedomgo]

Bitcoin is actually a game of speculation, due to its high volatility and uncertainty. But there’s only one advantage of bitcoin, it has all the potentials to grow and succeed in the market, despite how banks and government are trying to visualize it as a non-valuable asset.

Now seeing that bitcoin could easily get affected by market news and sentiments, I think that’s also one characteristic of bitcoin. But at the end of the day, it will always recover from any negativity, not because it has huge potentials to survive, but because bitcoin is actually bound to lead our future, through its limitless success and profits.

[peter0425]

So I decided to create my account to ask you guys, if you think BTC true potential, of giving individuals financial independence and direct control without relying on banks or large institutions, is being undermined by speculation and the lack of real-world applications?

I don’t think so. Financial independence is achieved by many because of bitcoin. They get to double or even triple their funds and more importantly bitcoin protects their money from inflation so they can see the growth of their assets over time. This allows them to plan for the future and possibly retire a lot earlier because they have the sufficient funds.

[CTO114]

Your concerns should tilt towards a position outcome, one certainly is, the speculations about Bitcoin wouldn't go away anytime soon

[DanWalker]

So I decided to create my account to ask you guys, if you think BTC true potential, of giving individuals financial independence and direct control without relying on banks or large institutions, is being undermined by speculation and the lack of real-world applications?

It seems your perspective is completely different from most people here. While you want bitcoin to be used and applied in more real life as its original purpose was to create a peer to peer currency, providing and protecting our privacy. But unlike you, 99% of people here come to bitcoin with the sole purpose of making a lot of money and becoming rich. Not many people actually care about decentralization as much as they claim, so don't be surprised when many people disagree with your thinking, bitcoin lacks practical applications.

To me, at this stage bitcoin is still only used as a speculative asset, it really lacks real-world applications. That is one of the main reasons why it is highly volatile.

[byranttt]

I believe that Bitcoin is just a form of capital harvesting and a form of currency that is bound to appear in the economic cycle. Without Bitcoin, other virtual currencies with the same nature as Bitcoin will appear. Therefore, the fundamental reason is the economic environment of capital intervention, which gave birth to Bitcoin.

[X-ray]

I don't think the speculative characteristic undermine its vision.

Instead, the speculative characteristic making people attracted into bitcoin and later learn about its vision which is financial freedom and so on.

I even think that it's volatile because it's not relying on banks and large institutions in the first place, it just exist and let the market decide its value.

Honestly, I like this version of bitcoin better, where volatility is a normal phenomenon.

[nemesis_incarnate]

I don't think the speculative characteristic undermine its vision.

Instead, the speculative characteristic making people attracted into bitcoin and later learn about its vision which is financial freedom and so on.

I even think that it's volatile because it's not relying on banks and large institutions in the first place, it just exist and let the market decide its value.

Honestly, I like this version of bitcoin better, where volatility is a normal phenomenon.

It becomes less and less of a factor anyway, because it's hard to move such a giant to a big extent, so to speak.

And, truly - BTC is not controlled, it lives for itself, basically, thus, the price fluctuations are a byproduct of that.

[fuguebtc]

I even think that it's volatile because it's not relying on banks and large institutions in the first place, it just exist and let the market decide its value.

If bitcoin's volatility is due to its independence from banks or institutions, then its volatility has not decreased over time because bitcoin has so far retained its decentralized nature.
But compared to before, bitcoin's volatility has decreased significantly. So I think bitcoin is volatile because it is highly speculative and manipulated by financial forces. Previously, bitcoin could drop 85-90% during bear seasons or increase x2-x5 in short periods of time, but it is clear that volatility has decreased significantly as market cap has increased. The larger the capitalization, the more difficult it is to manipulate.

Honestly, I like this version of bitcoin better, where volatility is a normal phenomenon.

It's not just you, we all love the volatility of bitcoin and that's why we are here. Simply because we can leverage that to generate higher profits.

[melinoe]

It's not just you, we all love the volatility of bitcoin and that's why we are here. Simply because we can leverage that to generate higher profits.

..And we also wouldn't be able to do anything about it, so we should rather cherish the possibilities because of it

[Metalbest]

Bitcoin is actually a game of speculation, due to its high volatility and uncertainty. But there’s only one advantage of bitcoin, it has all the potentials to grow and succeed in the market, despite how banks and government are trying to visualize it as a non-valuable asset.

Now seeing that bitcoin could easily get affected by market news and sentiments, I think that’s also one characteristic of bitcoin. But at the end of the day, it will always recover from any negativity, not because it has huge potentials to survive, but because bitcoin is actually bound to lead our future, through its limitless success and profits.

Bitcoin being a highly speculative element since its value can rise and fall drastically due to news and market temperament. Volatility makes it risky and at the same time, people seeking growth and opportunities pool towards it. I concur that even when banks and governments have been skeptical about Bitcoin, they have been quick to pounce back after any misfortuns. Its decentralized design provides it some form of staying power: its increasing use. There are no guarantees, but its possibility to change money as we know it surely makes people interested and optimistic.

[hero_the_bossman]

Bitcoin being a highly speculative element since its value can rise and fall drastically due to news and market temperament. Volatility makes it risky and at the same time, people seeking growth and opportunities pool towards it. I concur that even when banks and governments have been skeptical about Bitcoin, they have been quick to pounce back after any misfortuns. Its decentralized design provides it some form of staying power: its increasing use. There are no guarantees, but its possibility to change money as we know it surely makes people interested and optimistic.

BTC is guaranteed to rise in price and value because the more time passes, the more people and institutions come to it and see it as something worth working with: volatility or not, BTC becomes viewed as something worth the shot, and the demand increases every year.

[Patikno]

So I decided to create my account to ask you guys, if you think BTC true potential, of giving individuals financial independence and direct control without relying on banks or large institutions, is being undermined by speculation and the lack of real-world applications?

I'll answer your question with my personal opinion. I believe Bitcoin's true potential lies in its value, which has the potential to surge significantly over time, or cycle after cycle. This is based on Bitcoin's historical value, which we can see reaching a new all-time high every cycle, and this is influenced by halvings and adoption. Halvings can be said to be a cycle that significantly impacts Bitcoin's value, as we know they make Bitcoin increasingly rare. Meanwhile, Bitcoin adoption is starting to spread from companies, countries, and institutions. This is also part of Bitcoin's potential, especially if the entire world adopts it. If you want to learn about real-world applications, it's only a matter of time. Overall, not many people are familiar with Bitcoin, so I think strategic reserve is just a start to make that happen. I hope you understand some of what I've said, and perhaps this can be the right answer. And as a suggestion, I think this is a potential we should capitalize on in Bitcoin.

[bitLeap]

if you think BTC true potential, of giving individuals financial independence and direct control without relying on banks or large institutions, is being undermined by speculation and the lack of real-world applications?

We recognize that ETF and large financial institutions are increasingly dominating the bitcoin market, which is considered a deviation from Bitcoin original purpose as a financial revolution that prioritizes complete control. Speculation is inevitable, with rapid price fluctuations resulting in inefficiencies for everyday transactions. However this doesn't mean Satoshi vision is dead, as we individuals, still have full control over our asset.

[FortuneFollower]

if you think BTC true potential, of giving individuals financial independence and direct control without relying on banks or large institutions, is being undermined by speculation and the lack of real-world applications?

We recognize that ETF and large financial institutions are increasingly dominating the bitcoin market, which is considered a deviation from Bitcoin original purpose as a financial revolution that prioritizes complete control. Speculation is inevitable, with rapid price fluctuations resulting in inefficiencies for everyday transactions. However this doesn't mean Satoshi vision is dead, as we individuals, still have full control over our asset.

Retailers still have more than institutions, so all as gud, imo, we shouldn't sway toward the doomsday scenarios in that instance.

[buwaytress]

Volatility becomes less and less of a factor, imo, because BTC's cap only goes up, and institutions stick to it like to honey.

I agree that it's truly something of a price for BTC to become more mainstream, and much faster than without these institutions.

Sure, but as long as you can get the 10% up and back down daily, and THIS price? And hey, with leverage, derivatives make even the 1% bumps either way nice for speculation.

Just like what @buwaytress stated, if one day the speculation within Bitcoin is proven to be unrealistic, then Bitcoin will eventually be forgotten.

Not really what I said, but well, yes, if Bitcoin eventually fails the test of time (within which speculation had to be present), then well, the experiment was a nice journey.

[Odogwu-Blockchain]

A lot of people call BTC a 'free' currency, that is to say people are free to use it as they want, without any third party control of course, and that includes the speculators. I don't don't see how speculation is a problem, as many people tend to suggest sometimes, i.e. it doesn't stop anyone from spending their BTC, using it i a p2p way, setting up their own node, etc.

Truth be told, it is going to be hard to find a bitcoiner who isn't using BTC's volatility to make profits on their investments, what is wrong with that? Absolutely nothing.

I agree that speculation is part of the freedom BTC gives. My point is, if 90% of people only see it as a quick-profit asset, we’re wasting its potential as a driver for business and real financial independence.

Everything that absolutely bears the name of currency is prone to be associated with speculations as such thing could change in value in the future, it becomes a center of discussion, prediction and even a piece of exchange in every medium of financial negotiation.

The nature of Bitcoin cannot exist without speculation because it drives the force behind Bitcoin success story, where every buys and sells, demand and supply comes from.

[mirakal]

Let people with doubts speculate negatively about bitcoin. True believers will stay low and quiet because they are certain that bitcoin can be trusted not just short-term but long-term. Besides, those who invest and trust Bitcoin earn profits, while doubters get nothing. For more than a decade that Bitcoin has existed, and it was enough for them to realize they were wrong. The adaptation may be slow, but at least it is consistently growing. It may take longer, but at least we are in that direction.

[Smartvirus]

Well, it’s good to know you aren’t entirely new in the Bitcoin or cryptocurrency space and have done a lot with several crypto innovative projects that not only made the space stronger, it indeed improved life’s of communities, that’s a good one.

However, your subject title doesn’t really depict Bitcoin. Don’t know what you mean when you say, Bitcoin has a soul..?!

So I decided to create my account to ask you guys, if you think BTC true potential, of giving individuals financial independence and direct control without relying on banks or large institutions, is being undermined by speculation and the lack of real-world applications?

There isn’t exactly a lack of really world application except for the fact that, this aspects to its application has gone through very limited and stunted growth. This is largely due to the fact that, Bitcoin isn’t just a currency but an asset with many practicing hodling.

[shinratensei_]

Retailers still have more than institutions, so all as gud, imo, we shouldn't sway toward the doomsday scenarios in that instance.

Which is true, if we're concerned about decentralization of bitcoin we should be participating to keep it by doing self custody, that's the only way.
If we just complaint without doing any action, then we're lying to ourselves. We're part of the retailer and the one that keep decentralization of holders.

The ETF is here to bring the inflow, DCA and self custody is the way to counter the centralization that ETF brought.

[BitGoba]

Speculation means trying to determine the price of something , a commodity or a currency ,for which there is a market. Bitcoin is particularly interesting because it can be traded on a completely free market 24 hours a day.

For example, currencies, gold, stocks, or commodities are usually traded only during business hours. Another difference is that anyone can trade Bitcoin directly, whereas trading other assets typically requires an authorized broker.This is why the Bitcoin market is much livelier and more volatile, it is driven largely by the emotions of ordinary people For example, in other markets like stocks, if a share drops by 10%, trading might be temporarily halted to let people calm down. But with Bitcoin, trading never stops, 24/7.

I recently watched a presentation by Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan, where he showed a long-term chart displaying major bull and bear markets with large drops. Everyone assumed it was a Bitcoin chart, but they were surprised when he said, ‘No, this isn’t Bitcoin . this is a long-term chart of gold.

https://youtu.be/c2943HNLYhc?si=fok9qNQEsE5q-1bo