There are a few reasons why I have decided to not invest in Bitcoin.
Here is a couple of them.
1. Currency is already decentralized
Bitcoin is pitched as a decentralized currency. Well, currencies are already decentralized. The number of currencies is equal to the number of countries in the world.
2. I dont see any intrinsic value in Bitcoin
Let’s say, I hold 100 shares of Reliance, and tomorrow, the Stock exchange decided to shut down for 5 years.
Too bad, I cannot sell my Reliance shares, but are they worthless?
Well as long as the underlying business keeps making money, the shares have value.
Say something similar happens to all crypto exchanges. What will be the value of Bitcoin in such a case?
It seems to me that the value of Bitcoin is essentially just this:
The ability to find a buyer.
That’s it. The bitcoin is valuable only when there is a buyer for it.
So basically Trading Bitcoin is bringing value to Bitcoin.
3. Anonymous money is.. Black Money?
Bitcoin is pitched as anonymous money. How is Anonymous money different from black money?
We in Bharat have seen a black money economy. It is still thriving to this day. I am not sure if Black money is a good thing for the economy.
How is Benami property holders different from anonymous bitcoin holders?
Conclusion
Well, Bitcoin is definitely a great speculative instrument ( I won’t use the word asset here). You can trade and make (or lose) a lot of money.
People have become millionaires, even billionaires while playing with Bitcoin.
But I don’t find that it is a store of value in its current state.
Well things might change in the future, who knows?
However, I am very optimistic about blockchain as a protocol. We will see loads of innovation around Blockchain.