“Why won’t bitcoin die?” is a common question I’ve heard asked throughout the years by people sitting on the sidelines watching the bitcoin price hectically rise and fall, time and time again.
The mainstream media will tell you that bitcoin is a speculative bubble, your financial advisor will tell you that you’re wasting your time by investing in it, your friends and family will tell you that it’s a scam and economists will tell you that it won’t work. So, why is bitcoin consistently rising in price and proving them all wrong? If bitcoin really is everything that these people say it is, then why won’t it just die already?
Many people in developed countries see bitcoin as an investment opportunity, thinking “I’ll buy low here, and sell high here” in the hopes of purchasing a good or service that they wish to acquire. We also aim to increase our net worth and improve our quality of life, earn a higher social status, provide value, etc. But many people in the first world have not yet had to learn about the frightening reasons why bitcoin is needed in the first place, but that is changing.
People in developing countries see Bitcoin in an entirely different light. They’re not buying bitcoin in the hopes of purchasing a 10-bedroom mansion in Los Angeles, they’re not buying bitcoin in the hopes of owning a Lamborghini, they’re buying bitcoin because they need it to survive. In third-world countries where the national currency is being printed into oblivion, those countries’ citizens are seeing their life savings vanish right before their eyes.