In the first four months of 2019, only 1.3% of transactions on the first cryptocurrency network were associated with payments for goods and services. The coin remains a speculative instrument that does not yet compete with traditional money.
The future of Bitcoin as a payment instrument was in doubt – in the first four months of 2019, only 1.3% of transactions in the cryptocurrency network were associated with payments for goods or services, writes Bloomberg . Now activity has almost reached a historic high of 1.5%, which was set at the end of 2017, last year this figure dropped to 0.9%.
According to the experts of the publication, the volatility of the asset does not allow it to become a payment instrument. Users do not want to part with a coin that can rise by 50% in a few weeks, and this is how the culture of "hodlers" has appeared, who hold Bitcoin despite the market situation.
“Exchange trading continues to dominate the economic activity of Bitcoin. This means that the main use case for cryptocurrency remains speculative, and payment for everyday purchases has not yet become a reality, "said Kim Grauer, chief economist at Chainalysis.
Earlier, the research service of the US Congress called Bitcoin a speculative instrument that cannot be considered a means of payment. According to experts, cryptocurrency is not able to compete with traditional assets.