- After reaching $47,456.95 in March 2022, the digital currency lost roughly 65 per cent of its value last year
- The price of bitcoin currently sits at US$25,011.67 and has been on a steady incline since the start of 2023
- Experts expect that cryptocurrencies will have a rollercoaster year
- It is projected that adoption of bitcoin could reach 10 per cent by the end of the decade
- The top use cases of crypto payments include remittances, cross-border B2B payments, digital payments and card payments
The cryptocurrency market never sleeps, and that’s especially true for its top-mover bitcoin.
It wasn’t that long ago that the digital currency reached its highest valuation ever — $67,553.95 in November 2021 — but the world of cryptocurrency moves fast, and that price point is now nothing but a distant memory.
Case in point, between March 2022 and the end of the year, bitcoin lost roughly 65 per cent of its market value, a true indicator of how volatile the market can be.
As of the time of this writing, bitcoin currently sits at $25,011.67 and has had a steady increase since the start of the year.
Even though the digital currency has fared well in the first few months of 2023, that can always change quickly. As such, experts in the industry expect nothing less than a roller coaster year for the top digital currency.
Bitcoin price predictions in 2023 and beyond
While 2022 was the year of losses for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies across the board, many experts in the space anticipate a different story for 2023 while others anticipate more or less of the same.
Those who are bullish on bitcoin have varying opinions on what price point it will reach this year. Panelists from Finder believe bitcoin will be worth $26,844 by the end of the year and anticipate it reaching $77,492 by the end of 2025.
Other experts, according to Changelly, predict bitcoin will cross over the $27,000 mark this year to $27,108. By 2024, the outfit expects the cryptocurrency could reach as high as $53,699.17 with an average trading price of $47,194.68.
Meanwhile, some experts who are bearish on bitcoin anticipate it could fall to as low as $10,000 this year fueled by the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy and rising inflation rates.
Will bitcoin be regulated?
Even though we’re over a decade into the world of cryptocurrencies, bitcoin and other digital currencies remain unregulated — which means they are not controlled by central authorities, such as banks or the government.
To that end, conversations around the world about regulating bitcoin are certainly being had, but there is still lots of work to be done before that can happen.
In the United States, for example, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) included this year the regulation of emerging technologies and crypto assets as one of its priorities, meaning the agency plans to decide whether or not cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency companies meet the necessary standards.
Cryptocurrencies are also currently not regulated in Canada but the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) together with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada does have guidelines in relation to cryptocurrency regulations, including
- If crypto assets are trading as securities or derivatives on a crypto asset trading platform, the platform would be subject to securities legislation.
- If a crypto platform stores an account holder’s crypto assets in a wallet controlled by the platform, the contract would be subject to securities law.
- If an initial coin offering (ICO) issues security tokens, securities laws may apply.
Is bitcoin still a good investment?
In the grand scheme of things, the world of cryptocurrencies is still also relatively new — even though bitcoin first entered the scene back in 2009 — but they have certainly changed digital currencies and the way payments are made in a short amount of time.
With that in mind, several financial experts say that bitcoin is still a good long-term investment and that it is the best choice when first investing in cryptocurrencies.
Still, bitcoin remains unregulated and is considered a volatile asset, so investors are advised to do their own due diligence before making the bitcoin plunge.
