Back in 2013, you could buy a whole bitcoin for around $100. These days, a single bitcoin tends to cost about 160 times more than that. At its peak, you had to pay more than $60,000 to purchase a single bitcoin.
In other words, cryptocurrency trends have a reputation for reversing in surprising ways. Many people have seen their fortunes multiply in an incredible way over a very short amount of time.
Other people have tried to jump on the bandwagon only to see their investment decrease in value. The more that you know about cryptocurrency trends in 2023, the better the chance that you will make the right decisions when it comes to your own use of cryptocurrency.
Read on to learn all about the most important things to understand about what is going on in the world of cryptocurrency in 2023!
Buy Cryptocurrency for Functional Use
When cryptocurrency was first made, it was designed for practical use. In most cases, people used it so that they could make financial transactions with people all around the world.
On top of that, these transactions were not subject to any governments or financial bodies authorizing them. However, this use of currency turned out to be so useful that the value of cryptocurrency exploded.
That led many people to start buying cryptocurrency as an investment rather than because they wanted to use it themselves to make transactions. It is difficult to overestimate how big the difference is between something you buy as an investment versus something you buy as a tool.
Many people got excited about cryptocurrency, so it increased in value on the basis of speculation rather than because it was providing valuable financial opportunities. However, cryptocurrency has been going through a difficult time, so many people are abandoning it as a tool of investment.
On the one hand, that provides opportunities for others to buy it at a lower price. However, we may see a trend toward using cryptocurrency for practical reasons. At the same time that cryptocurrency is becoming less attractive as an investment, it is becoming more attractive as a tool.
The original cryptocurrency used simple technology. More modern cryptocurrency alternatives use more and more advanced techniques. The end result is a wider variety of uses and an increase in efficiency.
Even as people stop buying cryptocurrency in the hopes of multiplying their money, more and more people may buy cryptocurrency because of its amazing usefulness for making financial transactions.
Government Interest in Cryptocurrencies
This applies not only to people but also to governments. Governments around the world have been arranging to use and accept cryptocurrency. In this sense, the history of cryptocurrency is only beginning.
As more and more governments and major institutions use cryptocurrency, we will see trends unlike anything else in the past.
Enjoy the Rise of Bitcoin ATM Options
Many people underestimate the importance of infrastructure when it comes to currency. As cryptocurrency got more and more popular, institutions started to install Bitcoin ATM options around major cities.
In the past, it was more difficult for people to use cryptocurrency in a practical way. That was one of the reasons that there was so much demand for it as an investment rather than as a tool.
However, these days, it is more and more convenient to withdraw and use cryptocurrency while you are out and about. On top of that, more and more major institutions are accepting cryptocurrency. That means that the value of a given ATM goes up.
This creates a feedback loop where more ATM options lead to more institutions that accept cryptocurrency. As more institutions accept cryptocurrency, the value of ATM options also goes up.
Then, people are incentivized to install more Bitcoin ATM options. This cycle then continues as people find ways to enjoy the efficiency that cryptocurrency transactions can provide.
When you combine this dynamic with the previous one, we can see why more and more people may look to cryptocurrency options for pragmatic reasons rather than as an investment. You can have a look at Bitcoin ATM options to better appreciate how common they are becoming.
Purchase Cryptocurrency Products in Smaller Amounts
What does this mean about how much cryptocurrency people will buy at a given time? When people think of cryptocurrency as an investment, they are tempted to put as much of their net worth into it as possible.
For some people, these kinds of risky investments paid off in a huge way. The rise of cryptocurrency created many millionaires and even billionaires. These people felt confident that they had made the right decision by going all in on cryptocurrency as an investment.
However, other people had a different experience. Especially people who started to invest in cryptocurrency later did not enjoy the same benefits.
In fact, many people ended up making no money at all with their cryptocurrency investments. Others lost huge amounts of value by holding their net worth in cryptocurrency. All of this has to do with using cryptocurrency as an investment rather than a transaction tool.
As people start to use cryptocurrency as a tool again, we may see them purchase it in smaller amounts. In most cases, there is little reason to have a lot of your net worth in a cryptocurrency if you do not intend to spend it soon.
Cryptocurrencies May Become Safer Investments
That means that people may be approaching cryptocurrency in a much safer way. We may see that people put smaller and more reasonable amounts of their net worth into cryptocurrencies.
Then, they may buy cryptocurrency only because they intend to use it. In some ways, this leads to much smaller rates of growth. People aren’t pouring their life savings into cryptocurrency.
They are no longer buying it because they are hoping to get rich by doing so. On the other hand, this can also lead to a more stable rate of growth.
People might get scared and decide to sell their investments depending on market trends. But if people are using cryptocurrency for transactional purposes, the dynamic shifts.
Even if people think that the value of cryptocurrency will go down in the coming months, they may feel comfortable buying it. After all, if they buy cryptocurrency only to spend it a few hours or days later, they are not affected by negative market trends.
Look For the Best Cryptocurrency for Varied Uses
We have already discussed how the original cryptocurrency did not provide very many uses. That is the natural result of its simpler technology. However, the popularity of simple cryptocurrencies led to more complex cryptocurrencies.
These days, some of the largest cryptocurrencies out there provide an amazing variety of uses. In the past, what made a cryptocurrency valuable was how much demand there was for it. Everyone wanted Bitcoin because it was so popular, not because it was useful.
We may see a shift toward measuring the value of a cryptocurrency more by its functional use. It does not matter if a cryptocurrency does not receive much attention or demand. You may still want to buy it because it provides transaction opportunities that other currencies do not.
We already talked about how we may see slower and more stable cryptocurrency growth. As a result, we may see that some of the most functional coins start to slowly rise through the ranks.
At some point, this kind of rise may lead to speculation again. People might get excited about a rising coin and decide to invest in it in the hopes that it will continue to increase in value. However, those kinds of hopes are also subject to fear.
As market trends fluctuate, people may abandon popular functional coins. However, none of that will affect those who use these coins for functional reasons. That means that there will be a stable amount of genuine demand for cryptocurrency regardless of its value.
Look Out for More Efficient Cryptocurrencies
In the early days of cryptocurrency, people did not know what was later going to happen. Some of the most popular cryptocurrencies ever were created in only a few hours.
As a result, people did not expect what would happen when they increased in popularity. Many people began to realize that the design of early cryptocurrencies was wasteful. The more people mined and bought cryptocurrency, the more electricity they used up.
In some places, that led to increased energy prices for everyone. That may sound bad by itself. However, it was made worse by recent trends in energy.
Many people are finding it more difficult to find access to affordable energy. In such times, it is unfortunate that people spend so much electricity on cryptocurrencies. However, this is not a necessary problem with cryptocurrencies.
Early designs were inefficient because they did not know how popular they would become. More modern cryptocurrencies use much less electricity. People may start to care more and more about this future.
People may start to abandon older cryptocurrencies that they only wanted because they were popular. As people shift toward functional use, they may favor more efficient cryptocurrency designs.
In the coming years, the top coins may be capable of scaling up without wasting energy. That will also foster goodwill between the cryptocurrency community and the rest of the world.
Instead of putting them at odds with each other, it will help everyone appreciate the practical benefits of cryptocurrencies. In the long run, that may also lead to stable growth.
Observe How Trust Issues Affect the Crypto Culture
One of the largest crypto companies in the world went bankrupt in recent history. It turns out that they were allegedly committing fraud. Millions of people lost almost all of the money they invested in this company.
Some people think of this as an isolated incident. However, others see it as representative of the whole cryptocurrency world. The end result is that people are looking at cryptocurrency with more skepticism than ever before.
In some ways, that will lead to slower growth. However, it is another reason that people are more inclined to use cryptocurrency in a functional way.
Keep an Eye on Increasing Government Regulation
Many people found cryptocurrency desirable because it avoided government regulation. On the other hand, people have seen that lack of regulation is not always a good thing. Governments are already starting to regulate cryptocurrency more.
Many people think that it is impossible for a government to completely control a cryptocurrency. However, it is worth keeping in mind that many governments can buy even the most valuable cryptocurrencies. At the end of the day, that gives them the power to control them if they decide to do so.
That means that a future where government regulation plays a major part in cryptocurrency may be inevitable. Even if some cryptocurrencies avoid government regulation, they may only be able to do so while they are small. As cryptocurrencies rise to prominence, governments will be more likely to regulate them.
Look For Slowly Increasing Prices
The end result of these trends is that prices for cryptocurrencies may go up at a much slower rate than before. We may also see much less market volatility.
That means that cryptocurrency may not be a viable way to get rich quickly. However, it may mean that it is a reasonable and safe investment in the long run.
Understand How to Keep Track of the Latest Cryptocurrency Trends
Taking the time to understand the latest cryptocurrency trends is an investment that will more than pay for itself in the long run. Many people see that cryptocurrency technology provides opportunities that no other technology does.
On the other hand, many people have invested in cryptocurrency as if it were a stock rather than a tool. Navigating the complexities of these dynamics requires keeping up to date on what is going on in the cryptocurrency world.
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