Bitcoin and the rise of cryptocurrency

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Bitcoin has passed the $10,000 USD per share mark. And as of December 26, the world’s first major cryptocurrency sits at $15,800 USD per share. Apart from being the first and only cryptocurrency of its kind to break the symbolic barrier, it has also defied the expectation of financial market experts who predicted that the bitcoin “bubble” would burst as soon as its’ value attained double digits.

The crazy amount of hype surrounding cryptocurrency and bitcoin has opened an entirely new sector within financial markets. Freelancer.com, one of the web’s biggest providers of IT freelancers reported that cryptocurrency-related job postings surged in the third quarter to over 480,000 individual positions being advertised within that timeframe. Freelancer, which boasts over 25 million users also cleared 12 million contracts during the same quarter.

Whilst 480,000 might pale to the 12,000,000 other positions advertised, the sector has seen a marked increase across many other platforms. The huge and relatively unforseen success of bitcoin has led to a range of other companies looking to start their own cryptocurrency. From those named after internet memes to bona fide companies lending their name to their own online currency, the rush to cash in on what may be only a momentary modern day gold-rush is building up.

The cryptocurrency market is doomed to fail if you believe certain analysts. With many calling the growth unsustainable and a self-fulfilling prophecy with similarities of a ponzi scheme, several industry leaders remain sceptic about the future of intangible online currency like bitcoin. The payoff could be immense though, if campaigners for cryptocurrency are to be believed. Those who invested early whilst shares were low are in line for a multi-million dollar payday should they decide to cash out.

That being said, with uncertainty regarding how high it can climb before the bubble busts, and how likely they are to actually access any money invested into it, there are still many questions that remain unanswered.

Could cryptocurrency be the next big form of monetary transaction?

Is it able to rival stock trading and more conventional market practices?

Is its value inflated?

How secure is it as a commodity?

These are all questions that are yet to be answered solidly and help understand why so many remain unsure if Bitcoin’s rise is sustainable in any way. Until now, its value has continued to grow steadily, leaving investors to adopt a wait and see approach as they hold on to their cryptowallets and determine when the best moment to withdraw their investment looms.