<p>Many people now still believe that Bitcoin’s long-term trend is up only. They even think it can reach the price of millions of dollars in near future. In contrast, some others claim that the recent market price of Bitcoin reflects its real value. In this article, let’s explore Bitcoin from two perspectives - from an advocator and from an objector.</p><h2>Bitcoin as a store of value</h2><h3>Advocators</h3><p>The recent situation between Russia and Ukraine suggests that the world is ready for a new "store of value." Despite the fact that it has no practical utility like gold or oil, Bitcoin has intrinsically evolved as a store of value because of its durability and scarcity.</p><p>Bitcoin is designed to have all of the attributes of sound money (divisibility, transferability, fungibility, scarcity, durability, portability). Bitcoin is, even more, portable and divisible when compared to gold. This makes it a better store of value.</p><h3>Objectors</h3><p>Altcoins have those properties too. Ethereum, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, etc can claim themselves to have the same features.</p><p>Volatility is also one of Bitcoin’s problems. Because the world trades in fiat currencies (USD, EUR, JPY, etc.), Bitcoin's story as a store of value makes sense only if its price volatility is relative to one of the mentioned currencies. However, advocators also counterargue that Bitcoin’s volatility will decrease as the market becomes bigger and stronger.</p><h2>Bitcoin as a safe haven from inflation</h2><h3>Advocators</h3><p>Inflation is frequently caused by excessive money printing Or fast increases in the money supply, but Bitcoin is resistant to these issues due to its fixed supply and predetermined monetary policy. Central governments are printing money like crazy, causing inflation and devaluing fiat currencies. Because gold is scarce, it is regarded as an inflation hedge.</p><p>Bitcoin supporters think that BTC will also serve as an effective inflation hedge for the same reasons. While it hasn't been a suitable short-term inflation hedge, advocators will argue that this is short-sighted. Bitcoin is still in its early stages, and its worth as an inflation hedge should be assessed over time rather than in the short term.</p><h3>Objectors</h3><p>According to a new Bank of America research, Bitcoin hasn't served as much of an inflation hedge.</p><p>Instead, traders are trading Bitcoin as a risk asset and have done so since July 2021, according to BofA analysts Alkesh Shah and Andrew Moss in a study. Data shows that the cryptocurrency frequently moves in tandem with the stock market.</p><p>Based on their movement over the preceding 180 days, the correlation between Bitcoin and the S&amp;P 500 reached an all-time high on January 31. The connection between Bitcoin and the Nasdaq 100 was also around all-time highs. Therefore, as stocks are nowhere near an inflation hedge, Bitcoin is definitely not either.</p><p>Source: Glassnode</p><h2>Bitcoin as a payment method</h2><h3>Advocators</h3><p>Bitcoin is the finest payment network for transferring money since it is fast, secure, inexpensive, resistant to censorship, and does not require any middlemen.</p><p>Money transfer is quite complex, especially when huge sums are involved.</p><p>Overseas bank transfers take several days and are nearly impossible to complete on weekends or holidays. Countries have limits on how much money you can transfer, who you can send money to, which countries you can send and receive money from, and so on. However, with Bitcoin, you may move billions of dollars in a matter of seconds for a small charge, and no one can stop you.</p><p>For example: Someone sent $42,333,777 in Bitcoin and he/she is only charged $4.16.</p><iframe width="550" height="400" src="data:text/html;charset=utf-8,%3Cblockquote%20class%3D%22twitter-tweet%22%3E%3Cp%20lang%3D%22en%22%20dir%3D%22ltr%22%3ESomeone%20transferred%20%2442%2C333%2C777%20in%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A//twitter.com/hashtag/Bitcoin%3Fsrc%3Dhash%26amp%3Bref_src%3Dtwsrc%255Etfw%22%3E%23Bitcoin%3C/a%3E%20and%20paid%20a%20fee%20of%20%244.61.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EThat%u2019s%20a%20transaction%20fee%20of%200.00001088%25%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3ENo%20government%20bank%20or%20third%20party%20had%20to%20verify%20the%20transaction%2C%20nor%20could%20they%20have%20STOPPED%20IT%2C%20if%20they%20wanted%20to.%3C/p%3E%26mdash%3B%20Watcher.Guru%20%28@WatcherGuru%29%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A//twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1548734828090036224%3Fref_src%3Dtwsrc%255Etfw%22%3EJuly%2017%2C%202022%3C/a%3E%3C/blockquote%3E%0A%3Cscript%20async%20src%3D%22https%3A//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js%22%20charset%3D%22utf-8%22%3E%3C/script%3E%0A"></iframe><p></p><h3>Objectors</h3><p>Objectors have concrete points when they say that Bitcoin is not suitable for payment or transfer:</p><ul><li><p>Apps like PayPal, Zelle, Square, and others address the majority of domestic payments / small transactions.</p></li><li><p>Because of the volatility, the value received in $ terms will change from the value given, making it problematic for various applications.</p></li><li><p>In many countries, sending Bitcoin may result in taxation.</p></li><li><p>Many other cryptocurrencies address the same issue (though none are as decentralized or secure)</p></li><li><p>Individuals are nonetheless subject to their country's laws, regardless of whether technology enforces them.</p></li></ul><p>Bitcoin is an extremely efficient method of sending money, especially for international transactions. However, because of volatility, rules, and tax consequences, the use cases for such are limited.</p><h2>Bitcoin as the globe’s reserve currency</h2><h3>Advocators</h3><p>The US dollar’s failure will lead to the appearance of Bitcoin as the world’s currency. Following the United States' failure to keep adequate gold reserves to back the United States dollar in the 1960s, and President Richard Nixon's decision to withdraw the currency from the Gold Standard in 1971, the real value of the dollar has been steadily declining. Combined with periodic money printing manias to tackle economic crises, the dollar's purchase value has plummeted during the previous few decades.</p><p class="prosemirror-p-center"><img src="https://cdn.builder.news/news/11ed0f121c5ce99ba8e6023f659fee92.jpg" alt="Bitcoin as the globe’s reserve currency" title="Bitcoin as the globe’s reserve currency" width="600" height="309"></p><p class="prosemirror-p-center"><em>Source: Wallstreet Mojo</em></p><p>With its superiority, Bitcoin will replace USD position in the world’s reserve fund. BTC provides an alternative, sovereign currency that countries with weak currencies in crises can easily access. The same cannot be stated for a fiat currency such as the US dollar. Bitcoin has previously been proclaimed legal tender in countries such as El Salvador and the Central African Republic.</p><p>Bitcoin is a decentralized, sovereign currency with a predetermined monetary policy. Those who rely on it are not subject to the currency or economic policies of another country. As a result of the faltering dollar and the rise of economic powerhouses such as China, the dollar is losing clout in global markets, with some pushing for its abolition as the world's reserve currency.</p><p>The supporters of Bitcoin even think that the countries which do not believe in Bitcoin will somehow acquire some Bitcoin to make sure they don’t miss out.</p><h3>Objectors</h3><p>Bitcoin cannot function as a reserve currency if its use case as a store of value fails. Volatility is also an issue unless the world starts pricing products and services in Bitcoin rather than dollars. The case of Terra is still a lesson for us. They planned to acquire $10b Bitcoin as their reserve but then sold all of the newly-bought $3b Bitcoin when the LUNA crashed. It was then proved that Bitcoin did not do well as a reserve currency.</p><p>If Bitcoin threatens the US dollar's global reserve status, the US has a strong incentive to shut it down. The same goes for other superpowers. Adoption by superpowers is not the same as adoption by minor nation-states with failing currencies.</p><h2>Bitcoin as the main cryptocurrency on the Internet</h2><h3>Advocators</h3><p>Unlike government-issued currencies like the dollar or euro, Bitcoin enables internet transfers without the use of a middleman like a bank or payment processor. The removal of those gatekeepers opens up a world of new possibilities, including the ability for money to travel more swiftly and cheaply over the global internet, as well as giving individuals complete ownership over their own assets. Supporters think that it is nonsense for banking apps to last any longer since transferring money using your banking app is like using an app to instruct your post office to send a letter.</p><p>In an interview, Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, revealed his thought:</p><p>“Bitcoin is very deliberate about what goes in and what stays out…It’s slower, but slower things tend to last and they tend to be a whole lot more predictable in terms of the direction they’re going. They tend to be a lot more secure. They tend to have far better uptime and usability than anything else. That’s not to say that there are not a ton of great ideas in the sandbox everywhere and happening in all of these other projects. There are great sandboxes that will test ideas very quickly, but that deliberateness is what makes Bitcoin, to me, the potential internet’s currency and gives so much confidence, as a business owner, as someone running one of these companies, that it’s going to stick around and it’s going to serve billions of people throughout decades going forward.”</p><h3>Objectors</h3><p>Doubters have reasons when they say Bitcoin will not be the Internet’s currency:</p><ul><li><p>People outside of the crypto world do not care much about decentralization</p></li><li><p>Bitcoin is lagging behind Ethereum</p></li><li><p>Tax is a barrier</p></li><li><p>Bitcoin is not recognized as a unit of account anywhere, making currency adoption difficult.</p></li><li><p>Bitcoin transaction fees are higher than many other cryptocurrencies.</p></li></ul><h2>Bitcoin as the base layer for blockchain projects</h2><h3>Advocators</h3><p>Bitcoin is capable of much more than processing transactions and keeping transparent records on the blockchain. Indeed, it has become a desirable basic layer for many builders. As a matter of fact, Bitcoin is the most decentralized blockchain.</p><p>While the network value of Ethereum is mostly in line with the apps that run on top of it, this is not the case for Bitcoin. Before the recent market downturn, the trillion-dollar network had a handful of identified applications, which represented a fraction of the network's price. Furthermore, one must realize that Bitcoin is the most stable and secure base layer. While it may not be the quickest or cheapest in terms of throughput or costs, it is a dependable foundation for current and future development. The community and maintainers have demonstrated considerable opposition to attempts to change Bitcoin's essential rules - consensus algorithm, supply, and so on - whereas Ethereum and its consorts are known for rapidly modifying their core technology based on user demand.</p><p class="prosemirror-p-center"><img src="https://cdn.builder.news/news/11ed0f121c5cef62a8e6023f659fee92.jpg" alt="Bitcoin as the base layer for blockchain projects" title="Bitcoin as the base layer for blockchain projects" width="600" height="341"></p><p class="prosemirror-p-center"><em>Source: Bitcoin Magazine</em></p><h3>Objectors</h3><p>Most blockchain developers are not currently developing on Bitcoin. The majority of developers are working on Ethereum or other blockchains. The fast-growing pace of other ecosystems will attract builders to come and build on them</p><div class="pr-block-special"><strong>Disclaimer:</strong><br>This article is intended for and only to be used for reference purposes only. No such information provided constitutes advice or a recommendation that any investment or trading strategy is suitable for any specific name.</div>

Explore Bitcoin’s value in many aspects: a store of value, a safe haven from inflation,  a payment method, a globe’s reserve currency, a native currency for the internet and a base layer.

Bitcoin narratives: believers and doubters