10 things you need to know about Bitcoin

With only a fraction of the worlds global economy invested in the Cryptocurrency market, there are plenty of years ahead for this 25 year adoption. The concept of buying and selling with 'cash' is no different to 'card' - buying and selling through the Internet with your identity is just the next step.

Blockchain technology has the ability to reshape finance just as the Internet did communication. There is a common misconception that Bitcoin was meant to be used as a currency and that it has failed, what Blockchain is to currency is what Internet is to email.

"Day trading can feel like a roller coaster"

Bitcoin has value. More accurately described as True Value and the reason for this is because there is only a finite supply of Bitcoins available. Once all 21 million coins have been mined, that's it! No more can be found. That being said 99.9% of coins will be in circulation by 2048, however to mine 100% of coins will take almost 100 years on top of that because the mathematical algorithm is getting exponentially more complex to solve. When Bitcoin was first created, the reward was set at 50 Bitcoins per block mined. The code specifies that every 210,000 blocks mined that the reward would be cut in half, until it eventually is reduced to zero after 32 halving events. Getting involved with Cryptocurrency trading teaches you the value of a dollar on a global scale.

It is volatile. Knowing when to deposit & when to withdraw will be the difference between winning and learning. Picture trading different coloured sand and in this pool of sand, in the centre is a shiny marble. This shiny marble represents the Bitcoin and the sand represents all the different cryptocurrencies moving freely throughout the pit. Those closest to the shiny marble exert the most value, but it's always moving. As the saying goes, a rising tide will raise all ships.

Th3r3 are m4g1c numb3rs. On a daily/weekly/monthly/yearly basis, there is an agreed value between investors that determines value. These numbers rapidly change, some more monumental than others, but during the big market shifts these numbers can in fact be found and those paying close attention will capitalize.

• Number5
• Numb3rs
• Numb3r5

Converting numbers into English, these could all have an agreed value of the word Numbers, but each unique defining them individually as all the same. Bitcoin = value X = $?

Digital Gold. Banks or no banks, market depth is market depth. All cryptocurrencies are pegged against Bitcoin. When you think of the Gold bullion trade, it has a niche market. It has value and is purchased for dental, electronics, spacesuits, jewellery - plenty of uses.. Bitcoin is no different, it's used as a means to transfer 'Internet of value". Altcoins hold value because the companies behind them are researching and developing solutions to fix real world problems, currency is only 1 aspect.

Patience pays. Value is added through each transaction making market liquidation virtually impossible. Yes there was a massive sellout out mid-January 2018 but looking back 12months it is still up 1100%. This price drop is nothing more than a healthy correction and once you look at the numbers enough, peaks and troughs can be identified. Having the market reduce value is actually exciting and experienced on a yearly basis. Through perception, what may be considered low for one may be high for another.

HODL. A well known typo aka Hold. Before gravity was discovered, people were floating around.. Just kidding but whatever goes up must come down and if you are not driven by greed your gains can be determined by the steadily rising average. December 2017 in the Australian market; Reaching $25K AUD was monumental because the tide drastically changed and took a dive. Those who bought in at $25K managed to bring bring the market average to 26K for investors, but there were more people who had invested in on it at $15K bringing the market average down to somewhere in the middle at $20K and eventually back to $12K (all in a matter of weeks). Losing half your value is no time to be selling at a loss, patience and acceptance will eventually turn to your favor. Like any investment, you should not be putting in what you are not willing to lose.

FOMO (Fear of missing out). Supply and demand is basic economics, add psychology and you have yourself a healthy market. When there is too much of something, value is reduced. When it comes to the crypto market and the finite supply of Bitcoins, there is no right or wrong time to buy in. What you can control is what value you wish to agree on so the more people buying in at a higher value just increases the average, arguably there's no real good or bad time to be buying in when you understand the bigger picture.

There is a pattern. The pattern is that it is unique every single day and there is no pattern, like riding waves at the beach, there are always more waves. To swim is good but to surf is better! Past performance is not an indication of future performance. Identifying whales in the market are those who have $500K or more to dabble with, when those sort of orders are seen, you can be fairly confident that they have a value in mind they want to get to, either buying or selling. With no centralized body governing price, it's the majority that agree on a value and with more market share in at that time, it's entirely possible and apart of the environment.

It's being adopted. The first Trillion, the BIG T will be the hardest to attain but it won't be the last. After speaking with several investors, they fully understand and appreciate its value and longevity. Those who are not invested are skeptical of the almighty "pop". The best part of this volatility is that it is constantly expanding and 'popping', some bigger than others but still retaining a core value. Bitcoin cannot lose all its value because there are a ton of people who would pay $100 for it, $500 for it even $1000 for it! Fortunately for the economy there are a lot more people willing to pay a lot more than these numbers to have a share.

Sharing is caring. It's public knowledge and websites such as coinmarketcap.com & blockchain.info are highly utilized. Finding out through social media that Bitcoin has a value is like turning on the news and finding out how the weather was that day. You already knew it rained, not because you saw it on television but because you just washed your car and hard to drive through it. I see the market as a rubber band constantly expanding and retracting but ever growing. If you can focus your attention away from the fear and hype generated through media outlets and look at the numbers, you will understand that this market is going nowhere but UP, it is the future and it is bright.

What do we know about its creator Satoshi Nakamoto? It is estimated that Bitcoin's inventor has close to 1M Bitcoins, given this substantial volume he/she/they would have the ability to tank the market and knowing this generates a lot of fear. This should not be of concern but should instill confidence that even the market's creator does not have the ability to reduce the value to 0. We all have access to the transactions and this sort of quantity would not go unnoticed when moved. On numerous occasions we have witnessed up to 40% in fluctuation, a measly 5% would most definitely cause some waves but it's rebound would be through the stratosphere.

Let me paint one last picture, before the introduction of the automobile everyone owned a horse and the rich owned an automobile. Now, everyone owns an automobile and the rich own the horses. Years and years ago introducing more vehicles as a means of transport created more traffic and eventually warranted the invention of the stop sign. Think of the stop sign as Bitcoin, it's simple, it's basic and like computer programing it's either on or off - 1's and 0's, stop or go. This revolution then lead onto new and improved ways of directing traffic because more and more vehicles were finding their way to the road, eventually these dirt roads would be paved, think of the roads as Ethereum, faster and more efficient but serving as building blocks for more users. Both could exist on their own and not replace each other as they serve a different purpose, but the real value is when they co-exist with each other. A bunch of stop signs with no traffic (investors) feels rather useless and some paved road without stop signs would lead to chaos as no one would be stopping to give way, inevitably causing traffic collisions. As time progresses there were improvements made to the basic fundamentals, evolution found its way into traffic lights & pedestrian crossings.. Just think of these as forks. They each have their own purpose, similar but different objectives in mind but unable to replace the very first question once traffic was identified as the norm - To avoid a collision, is this path safe to move forward at this exact moment, yes or no?

In summary, there is no central body that can drastically manipulate the price, therefor the market agrees on a value that can be traded for Fiat or other Cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin doesn't want anything, it's not a campaign, not a company, it's a protocol. Like HTTPS is used to access secure websites, or POP3 used for email.

Disclaimer: The information in this post is based on my personal opinion + experience. Before making any financial commitment please exercise due diligence.