The Global Number of Bitcoins in Circulation is Forecast to Reach 19.9 Million by 2020

Growth Killing Uncertainty Brings Bitcoin to the Crossroads, According to a New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

GIA launches comprehensive analysis of industry trends, growth drivers, challenges, market size and demand forecasts on the global Bitcoin market. The global number of Bitcoins in circulation is forecast to reach 19.9 million by 2020, amidst numerous uncertainties and challenges posed by block size scaling, rising transaction fees, escalating number of unconfirmed transactions, rise in zombie bitcoins, and the imminent halving of the bitcoin mining reward.

Bitcoin which emerged with the promise of challenging the global economic order and the nature of almost every financial activity from banking to payments to wealth management is being felled by changes in macro, political and technology landscapes. The technology has had to contend with the massive invested interest in legacy systems and profit centers forcing bitcoin communities to navigate through a rapidly changing hostile regulatory landscape. The blockchain concept of bitcoin has always been a wildcard requiring skills in cryptographics rather than skills in economic policies and finance. Defined as the technology behind bitcoin, which stores and records bitcoin transactions like a digital ledger, the blockchain currently remains the Achilles heel of the technology’s concept. With the size of the blockchain remaining unchanged, transaction delays are ravaging the system. The scenario is in stark contrast to the promised benefits of the technology in reducing the cost of financial activities to near-zero, and overthrow traditional banking activities completely. Bitcoin’s future as the eCash of the digital era is rapidly dying given the host of current disadvantages such as disreputation for being unstable, vulnerability to wild fluctuations, association with illicit businesses, rising transaction fees, flaky payment issues, unstable network and congestion issues, severe mismanagement of the bitcoin core, inability to raise the block size limit, and rising costs, all of which will hamper decentralization of the system as only larger companies will be able to afford the cost. Real usage of bitcoin for payment and funds transfer remains abysmally low.

Although cryptocurrency defined as the most ingenious invention of the 21st century is widely acknowledged to be the future of our financial system, the push to rethink the global financial system comes a little too early. Governments worldwide are keen on banning cryptocurrencies when they shows the promise of evolving into a force strong enough to challenge national currencies as evidenced by the spate of regulations and clampdowns legislated on bitcoin during its early years of hype and promise. This indicates a political intolerance to cryptocurrencies that undermine national sovereignty. Whatever maybe the current failures of the bitcoin economy, the technology has nevertheless laid the foundation for future digital currencies. The rise of the bitcoin will most likely conclude in its demise as a successful experiment in proof-of-concept of digital currencies. Bitcoin has been a bold experiment in its own right, a starting point for envisaging an alternate financial system. Although in its current state, bitcoin does not threaten the dollar with substitution, it has nevertheless popularized the potential and the benefits of a self-regulating incentive system if implemented appropriately. The technology has provided invaluable insights into a system with the goal of overcoming the current evils of the financial system where self-interest of a few has been detrimental to the common good of the system as a whole. Although bitcoin in its present incarnation has failed, the technology nevertheless has created a legacy and has paved the way for the evolution and emergence of next-generation digital and progressive currency systems.

As stated by the new market research report on Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency has shown alternate ways to manage payments, remittances, securities settlement, assets, and community infrastructure management. The technology has provided hope for the development of a more safe, secure and non-corruptible financial system. Although the potential of bitcoin as being an alternative to fiat money has never materialized and still continues to be an unfulfilled promise, the concept of decentralized trust as epitomized by bitcoin nevertheless has enormous, untapped potential. This is evident from the rise in blockchain technology as a future platform for backend foundation for all banking and financial operations. The year 2015, establishment of R3CEV LLC, a blockchain company comprising a consortium of 45 financial companies engaged in the R&D of blockchain technology and its use in the current financial system, marks a new way forward.

The bitcoin ecosystem comprises players such as Bitmain, Butterfly Labs Inc., Genesis Coin Inc., KnCMiner AB, AntPool, BitFury Pool, Eobot, F2Pool, Genesis Mining, P2POOL.ORG, Slush's Pool, Bit2C, Bitcoinde, Bitcurex, Bitfinex, Bitstamp Ltd., BTC Markets, BTCChina, BTC-e, Campbx, Coinbase, Huobi, Kraken, OKCoin, 1Broker, Airbitz, BitPay, Inc., Blockchain.info, Blockstream, BlockTrail B.V., BTCJam, Coinsetter Inc., and Gliph, Inc., among others.

The research report titled “Bitcoin: A Global Market Report” announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, issues, drivers, mergers, acquisitions and other strategic industry activities of global companies.

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