Bitcoin, which
last week reached nearly $45,000, is not only of speculative interest. It is
also a currency that is used for trade and transactions.
In the recent news, several elements plead for a "democratization" of Bitcoin as a means of payment."
Explains Matthieu Bouvard, professor of finance at the Toulouse School of Management and Toulouse School of Economics.
If it were to
become generalized as a currency for making purchases. Bitcoin would, however,
present a number of disadvantages, explain most cryptographic specialists.
Never before has the price of Bitcoin reached such a level.
The virtual currency price, born directly after the crisis of 2008 to overthrow - or at least compete with - usual monetary institutions, last week reached about $45,000.
Since the beginning of the year, not a week has gone by without talking about the price of this cryptology.
Which has been driving the stock markets around the world crazy. But we forget
that it is above all a change, which is therefore used for transactions and exchanges,
and not just on the Dark Web.
"While virtual change or currencies are multiplying, and while usual currencies are going through the time of crisis.
The Bitcoin’s democratization is beginning to be confirmed on an economic scale." Note several analysts from the American bank JPMorgan specialized in cryptography.
So much so that today, many
believe that Bitcoin - and virtual currencies…Could soon become a real means of
payment for everyday life, and not just a speculative investment.
1. Towards a "democratization" of Bitcoin
The means of purchasing bitcoins, whole or in fractions, have multiplied in recent years.
As a sign of increased confidence in this currency.. the online payment giant Paypal launched a service for buying, selling and paying by cryptomoney last October.
The 346 million active PayPal account holders will soon be able to make their purchases in Bitcoin. This multiplies the potential number of crypto money users by three.
This decision by the online payment platform has created a real euphoria in the markets.., and many institutions have immediately reviewed their positioning.
Many investment funds have bought Bitcoins, and today several online banks even offer their customers the opportunity to invest their savings in Bitcoins.
"In the recent report made by Tesla last week, several elements plead for a "democratization" of Bitcoin as a model of payment.
But also those of Visa or Mastercard, which are going to set up a bank card allowing purchases in Bitcoin, or the announcements of Square.. [a payment services company].
It may lead us to believe that cryptography will gradually… impose itself as a currency for making payments."
Explains Matthieu Bouvard, professor of finance at the Toulouse School of Management and Toulouse School of Economics, and a specialist in cryptomoney.
"The principal objective of the creators of Bitcoin was to make it a peer-to-peer currency and no longer depend on usual banks.
If Tesla makes it possible to buy one of its car models in Bitcoin. "It can make things change".
Also analyses the Belgian economic journalist Gilles Quoistiaux, author of Bitcoin & Cryptomoney, the practical guide for the novice investor.
" Companies including Dell, Microsoft , and Expedia - already accept Bitcoin payments. And the list is growing every day" adds Matthieu Bouvard.
Who has been compiling this data for several years.
2. This would facilitate international payments.
Another major announcement, that of Twitter boss Jack Dorsey.
Who announced this Friday the creation of a foundation to finance the development of Bitcoin as the "motto of the Internet".
The founder of Twitter is therefore also launching into the activities of crypto-payment, like his main competitor Facebook, which is about to release its own virtual currency called Diem (formerly Libra).
"Facebook has more than 2 billion users; it is a considerable strike force.
We can clearly see it today; all the lights are on green to allow the generalization of payments in Bitcoin.
But what would really be the point of making our purchases using cryptography? "There is above all the idea of improving and facilitating international payments.
It was one of the original selling points for Bitcoin," recalls Matthieu Bouvard.
«Payments in Bitcoin could greatly facilitate the transactions made by these entire immigrant Diasporas, who today have to go through companies like Western Union for money transfers to their home countries.
Current solutions to transfer these funds - which represent
considerable financial flows - are slow and above all very expensive.
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3. Too volatile currency and the potential difficulty to make small payments
If it were to become widespread as a means of payment, however, Bitcoin would have a number of drawbacks… According to most cryptographic specialists.
"It's money that's too volatile through time, and that's the main problem.
For a merchant selling a product, it could be very dangerous if the price of the currency used is constantly changing. For example, if it loses 20 percent of its value overnight.
It's condemning the seller to take a risk every time he accepts a payment
in Bitcoin," explains the finance researcher and professor.
For stable coins [virtual currencies backed by a fiat currency such as the dollar or euro, other cryptomoney or exchange-traded commodities] like Diem.
"This volatility would be very limited, however, which would prevent price variations. And here we can imagine being able to use this sort of change on a daily basis, which would have an intrinsic value," report Matthieu Bouvard.
" It is conceivable that a significant part of the population will decide to hold their savings and make purchases using these global stable corners,"
Also
confirms Christian Pfister, Deputy Director-General of the DG Statistics at the
France bank and a professor at Sciences Po and Paris I, in a report.
Another major drawback if Bitcoin was to become widespread as a means of payment is the system architecture, which makes transactions very slow.
"To give you an idea, the Bitcoin network can currently process seven to eight transactions per second. While Visa can process up to 20,000 per second.
It wouldn't make sense to pay for your coffee in Bitcoin if you have to wait 30 minutes for the transaction to be confirmed.
However, technologies such as Lightning are now trying to correct these technical difficulties… explains Matthieu Bouvard.
But
as it stands, it's a major obstacle. With a network capacity that also limits
the volume of transactions, it is a bit difficult to see how Bitcoin could be
adopted widely by the population today. »
