To me it seems like last year was pretty uneventful in terms of new bitcoin technology, integrations, and growth.Coinbase expanded to support new markets, but customer service has been suffering so far.Lots of small businesses ditched bitcoin as a form of payment because although it was a novel idea, customers almost never used it, and the long wait times to confirm a transaction became unsustainable.The day-to-day fluctuations in the price of bitcoin were too sporadic for business accounting purposes.Not much new in terms of technology or use cases.So it feels like we're ending the year on a low-note, compared to previous years in which net-new integrations and participation experienced much more enthusiasm and activity.But here are the facts of where Bitcoin sits:Bitcoin is still poised to be "the official unofficial cash of the internet". Within the next 10-years as society continues to move all remaining brick-and-mortar businesses to the internet, including banks upgrading legacy infrastructure, the demand for an official "internet currency" will continue to increase.Unless the internet itself ceases to exist as we know it today, the future of Bitcoin is guaranteed. As long as the internet exists, Bitcoin will exist. And if the internet falls, inevitably Bitcoin will too, but at that point there would be much larger issues to deal with as entire nations go into chaos. If you believe in humanity living peacefully and in collaboration with one-another, and if you believe that we as humanity have evolved past our desire for world wars, then you understand that the internet will always need a method for completing cashless transactions. (I would like to even posit a future where humans have colonized space, maybe even mars, and we have space relays connecting everyone to one internet... and in that period, we will continue to rely on a currency accepted over this space network, not longer only for Earth-based commerce).Bitcoin is still the main cryptocurrency that consumers trust above all other alt-coins. Being the first-to-market has solidified its position within the community, ensuring its ongoing stable foothold in the genre.2018 saw a lot of activity around "officializing" Bitcoin in legal use-cases like currency exchanges, investments, and banking. The work accomplished here has already set a strong foundation for the legitimacy of Bitcoin, and will inevitably continue to grow in support and integrations.Bitcoin ATMs are becoming ubiquitous in everyday life. It's become easy for huge sections of the global population to participate in purchasing Bitcoin. (One of the issues faced up to this point has been the ease of onboarding new users, because acquiring Bitcoin required jumping through too many hurdles.)Bitcoin has held a minimum price of ~$4,000US/ea throughout the entire year of 2018. Although not the $20,000US/ea that we witnessed earlier in the year, it's still a remarkable price.I feel like 2019 will be an exciting year for Bitcoin.I think we will soon start to see more movement from large institutions that acquire Bitcoin for international remittance as well as diversification -- not just banks, but think of what would happen if e.g. the Chinese or Indian governments wanted to hold several billion dollars worth of Bitcoin for purposes of diversification and international remittance. I see these large organizations as the main beneficiaries of the existing Bitcoin technology and networks.The idea of fiat currency or even minerals like gold holding value are just socially and culturally accepted traditions. And with each passing year that Bitcoin remains in the public spotlight, it too becomes a cultural norm that people are slowly but surely becoming accustomed-to as a part of everyday reality. Just as we have come to expect Smartphones as an everyday part of our lives, so too everyone has made room in their "conceptual filters" to recognize and accept that Bitcoin is not going anywhere.This social acceptance of a new technology, even if it does not inevitably transform everyday end-consumer spending, it is opening more doors for large institutions to get involved as they face lower mental and executive board resistance to participation. via /r/Bitcoin http://bit.ly/2zzluwk
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