When it comes to Bitcoin, there’s a lot of talk about the “fear of missing out” (FOMO). And it’s no wonder, considering the incredible run Bitcoin has been on over the past year.
From humble beginnings as a niche digital currency, Bitcoin has soared in value, reaching an all-time high of over $19,000 in December 2017. The rise of Bitcoin has been nothing short of meteoric, and it’s sparked a wave of FOMO among investors and speculators.
But what is Bitcoin, really? And is the FOMO surrounding it justified? Let’s take a closer look.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that uses peer-to-peer technology to facilitate instant payments. Bitcoin is unique in that there are a finite number of them: 21 million.
This makes Bitcoin more like gold than a fiat currency, which can be printed by central banks at will. The limited supply of Bitcoin has helped to drive up its price.
How did Bitcoin start?
Bitcoin was created in 2009 by an anonymous person or group of people known as Satoshi Nakamoto. Nakamoto’s true identity has never been revealed, and it’s unclear if he/she/they are still involved with Bitcoin.
Nakamoto released the Bitcoin software as open-source code, and the first ever Bitcoin transaction took place between Nakamoto and another early adopter on January 12, 2009.
Since then, the Bitcoin network has grown exponentially. There are now millions of users and tens of thousands of businesses accepting Bitcoin as payment.
The total value of all Bitcoins in circulation is now over $160 billion.
What’s driving the FOMO around Bitcoin?
The explosive growth in both the price and adoption of Bitcoin over the past year has been nothing short of astonishing. The price of a single Bitcoin has gone from around $1,000 at the beginning of 2017 to over $19,000 by December.
And mainstream companies like Microsoft, Overstock, and Expedia have all begun accepting Bitcoin as payment for goods and services.
With such incredible growth, it’s no wonder that there’s a lot of FOMO around Bitcoin. Investors are worried that they will miss out on the next big thing if they don’t get in on the action now.
And given the limited supply of Bitcoins, many people believe that the price will continue to go up as more and more people adopt it. While it’s impossible to predict the future price movements of any asset, let alone a relatively new and volatile one like Bitcoin, the hype around it does seem to be driven by genuine excitement about its potential.
So is buying into Bitcoin right now just another case of FOMO? Only time will tell. But given its recent track record, it might be worth taking a closer look at this digital currency phenomenon.