Bitcoin Could Be the First Cryptocurrency to Reach a Market Capitalization of One Trillion Dollars

Abstract

Bitcoin blockchain possesses immense potential for future opportunities, well beyond its current use in financial services underpinning cryptocurrencies, i.e. replacing traditional trusted third parties with trusted machines. Despite over a decade has passed since Nakamoto Satoshi launched Bitcoin in January 2009, it still continues to face barriers, challenges as well as a major regulatory hurdle in the U.S. and Europe. This paper looked into three hypothetical scenarios where the price of bitcoin surges over $50,000 (scenario 1), $100,000 (scenario 2), and $1,000,000 (scenario 3). Although new path-breaking technologies and inventions (i.e. Bitcoin) will continue to forge ahead unabated regardless of doubters, doomsayers, skeptics, pessimists, disbelievers, and short-sighted politicians (President Trump); however, these scenarios can only become a reality if the Trump administration and law makers stop constantly running headlong into backlash to cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Libra coin in particular). For future price growth of Bitcoin and altcoins, cryptocurrency markets need more people like Christine Lagarde, the former Managing Director of the IMF (currently, president of the European Central Bank), who urged central banks not to ignore “winds of change” and consider looking into the case of central bank digital currency.

Keywords: Bitcoin; Cryptocurrency; Blockchain; Electronic Cash; Reserve Currency

JEL Classification: G12, G21, G32, E4, E5, E51, E59, D40, C52