The price of Bitcoin has been a little difficult to predict recently. Fluctuations have been all too common, caused partly by the activation of Segregated Witness as well as the potential Segwit2x hard fork which promises to upgrade Bitcoin by optimising the way data is stored on the network and doubling the block size from 1MB to 2MB in the following months. While on paper allowing more transactions with shorter approval times seems a good thing, miners have been less than convinced with the proposal. We recently saw the Bitcoin price fall below US$4,000, its lowest value since April 15th.
Despite these considerable reservations, Bitcoin price changes are nothing new. The cryptocurrency is often at the whim of global events. At the start of the year its value had barely peaked above US$1,000, but with mass media coverage it has surged to its current heights. At the time of writing, the value of a Bitcoin was a whopping US$4,415.14. That is quite a change from its value at the turn of the year when Donald Trump’s presidential win and subsequent inauguration resulted in a significant tumble. That unexpected event had a global effect on all the world’s major currencies, cryptocurrency included, with the Bitcoin value dropping from US$726.36 as investors rushed to grab commodities such as gold and silver. Bitcoin later rallied with an overall 2.5% increase, although the recovery took several days.
Some analysts believe that the latest dip in value is nothing more than bulls tiring. After all, the recent rise in value has been nothing short of meteoric over the past year. Japan declared Bitcoin legal tender which legitimised the currency, and this led to increased investment in the area. Bitcoin then split into two blockchains, Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, adding hundreds of dollars to the currency’s value. It’s natural, then, that an air of caution follows as Bitcoin owners sit patiently as the currency finds more stable ground. Others have been less optimistic, stating that the official rollout of Segwit2x in November and the bullish market of recent times has caused a market peak with price falls sure to follow.
Either way, this doesn’t detract from the rising popularity of Bitcoin. Its usage is becoming more common as large-scale retailers such as Amazon and Microsoft embrace the currency as a method of payment for goods and services. Even small businesses such as pubs and florists have taken Bitcoin on because of its ease of use and added security thanks to its cashless nature. No industry has taken a shine to Bitcoin quite like online gambling though. Bitcoin has become the currency of choice for those in countries where gambling is still seen as taboo. That is due to Bitcoin’s anonymous nature; it requires no personal details to utilise. If you’ve always wanted to try your hand at an online casino but are not sure where to start, we have collaborated with onlineroulette.org. So please click here to see their list of the best deals on their site, many of which do accept Bitcoin.
