I'm sure you all must have read about Bitcoin know how much that currency fluctuates. It went from pennies to a dollar, then to 30 dollars and crashed back to 2 dollars, then to 200 dollars and crash back again..
This has been used as an argument by those who still believe in the currency to criticize people who don't believe in it. That every time that Bitcoin was declared dead it came back to new all-time highs.
However, this time I do believe things are different.
- Bitcoin is now 10+ years old - Let's face it, facebook, instagram, the iphone... After the year 2000 none of the world-changing revolutions in tech took more than 10 years to happen. If Bitcoin hasn't picked up steam by now, chances are it never will.
- This time the general population thinks it is a Ponzi scheme. - Regardless of the tech itself (which I do believe is the work of geniuses) the widespread "feeling" is that crypto currencies will make you lose money. Back in 2013, 50 people knew about bitcoin, so if 45 of them gave up on the damn thing due to a crash, there would be millions out there who never heard of it ready to replace them. Now everyone and their uncle have heard about bitcoin.
- There are better alternatives coming - Most people don't care about "fighting the power" and other libertarian ideals. They simply want to live their lives. When Facebook introduces their own currency, and with apple pay taking off, there's just no need for virtual currencies that won't work as good as theirs, no matter how noble their long term objectives may be.