No! Bitcoin has similarities to gold, since they are both alternative investments as hedges to the mainstream financial system. Another property they both share is scarcity. But as a fairly new technology, bitcoin still lacks the universal adoption that gold has, hence why its market capitalization is much smaller. Over time, we may see both of these assets correlate in movement more tightly, but bitcoin will remain more volatile given that it is within a much newer asset class.

Here's one way of looking at it. How much did that tweet cost him? How much attention did it give his name and brand? I mean, he got a bunch of free articles throughout an entire tech industry. It could be a subtle marketing plot, since there is a relationship between those into crypto and those into his products.

Yes, I noticed XRP has spiked since the start of the New Year, but so have most coins. This is good news for XRP. I am not the biggest fan of XRP, though I have started accumulating it just in case we experience another bull market. XRP will likely remain among the top coins for the next few years at least, given that it is amply funded and has many partnerships.

There are many efforts to move away from the U.S. dollar throughout the world, but it has been very difficult to do so. The reason why the U.S. dollar is so dominant is because the U.S. has the largest military and very deep and sophisticated financial markets. We are seeing China and Russia buy gold and consider making a digital currency. More than likely, other nations will follow, including those of the Middle East. I doubt any newly-issued tokens will replace the U.S. dollar if major governments have had a hard time doing so. Anyway, I hope this is done in good-faith.

I think bitcoin has the best shot among cryptocurrencies to replace the U.S. dollar!

I think it's a bad sign when the founder of a cryptocurrency sells all of his crypto, especially near the all-time high. On the other hand, if Litecoin is truly decentralized, it shouldn't matter what Charlie Lee says or thinks. I think he is a leader whether he wants to be or not, but Litecoin has become larger than him at this point.

The problem, as I see it, is not that these services are temporarily removed or censored, but that one entity has the power to control what people access. This is very disturbing. We need to move away from being dependent on monopoly institutions. Not just in terms of cryptocurrencies, but also education, finance in general, technology, and other areas of life must we free ourselves.

I am not sure if this is orchestrated or what. It seems Google is behaving suspiciously lately. Perhaps it's just that there are some incompetent managers, and there is no larger agenda. I try not to be cynical about these things.

I agree that it is highly inadvisable to invest everything in cryptocurrencies. The industry is very young and financial experts are still at a loss on how to value these projects. Some diversification will go a long way to bringing peace of mind.

Anyone who says bitcoin is headed to zero is a fool. It is impossible for bitcoin to head to zero as its brand name is arguably worth a significant amount alone. Besides, the NYSE and other major financial institutions are beginning to embrace cryptocurrencies. There will always be a novelty factor to bitcoin as the first cryptocurrency.

For cryptocurrencies to reach the mainstream, we will need to resolve the scaling issues, be more user-friendly, and offer security for users. We are going to need to have an ecosystem that offers the protection and security to consumers that today's financial institutions provide.

Wow. Thanks for the clarification! I am a firm believer that seed phrases should always, always be locked away and made inaccessible to absolutely everyone but you. There are so many cases of friends, acquaintences, or relatives coming across private keys or seed phrases and wiping out accounts.

Bitcoin serves as a hedge to unstable currencies or governments that do not respect private property. It is an excellent means for people to store their wealth and take it across borders in case an unruly government decides to arbitrarily seize property.

My general investment strategy has been to HODL -- to not let emotions in the market affect my decisions. However, I was fortunate a couple of months ago to rotate out of questionable altcoins and put my money into the top coins and especially bitcoin. I will continue to hold and wait out the bear market til it tires.

It's never too late to invest in bitcoin, in my view. I think one positive indicator is exactly when everyone is saying it's a bubble and try to discourage others from learning about it or using it. In time bitcoin is likely to bounce back.

I agree. I personally believe the market pullback is a great opportunity to accumulate some bitcoin and altcoins. I believe any time there is an exponentially growing industry with 70 percent pullbacks at intervals, there is enormous potential to make money.

A lot of people bought during the market peak and are selling or are planning to sell when the market goes back up. I believe the market will move back up and far surpass the previous highs. The key is not putting in more than you can afford to lose and being patient.

Bitcoin is the leading cryptocurrency and a standard-bearer, so the general market will tend to follow its movements. Perhaps in the future when the market matures altcoins will move independently of bitcoin, but for the time being bitcoin is king as the most recognizable cryptocurrency.

Already there are debit cards planned that will use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to make transactions. I am not sure bitcoin can get more physical than that, as it's essentially comprised of software code. These debit cards will become a hit once the bitcoin price stabilizes or the bull market resumes.

The key is that the primary layer, or main chain, will remain decentralized, but even then Bitmain is gobbling up too much market share. In the case of the Lightning Network, it too will also be decentralized, though powerful companies will exert some influence. Blockchain can never be 100 percent decentralized it seems.

I agree with the posters who believe bitcoin can dip below $5,000, but this is unlikely and highly improbable for it to remain below that level. Institutional money is just starting to flow in and digital currencies are clearly the future of money.

The community needs to continue to put pressure on government officials to adopt a more innovative-friendly approach to cryptocurrencies. The future is with countries that embrace rather than stifle innovation, so we need to let these officials know how we feel.