15. Peering into the Future of Bitcoin

What does the future look like for Bitcoin and other virtual currencies? It might be rosy, or it might not. There’s really no way of predicting.

That said, there’s no harm in extrapolating current trends and making a few best-guess estimates. With that in mind, this chapter presents five scenarios for the future of Bitcoin—any one of which might actually transpire.

Scenario #1: Everything Is Awesome!

In the best-case scenario, every upside that every pundit has ever proposed is realized. Bitcoin becomes a trusted currency in all countries around the world, displacing traditional fiat currencies and revolutionizing financial markets and transactions. It also ends up trading at a very high level vis-à-vis ...

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