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Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, may face a significant safety risk on account of its unsustainable progress trajectory. According to a current evaluation by Justin Bons, founding father of Cyber Capital, BTC should double in worth each 4 years or maintain extraordinarily excessive charges to keep up its present stage of safety. 

Is Bitcoin’s Security Linked To Its Price?

In Bons’ evaluation, he highlights that Bitcoin’s safety mannequin relies on its mining community, which requires a continuing circulation of recent miners to keep up its safety. However, suppose the worth of Bitcoin continues to rise at its present tempo. In that case, it should finally attain a degree the place the price of mining will develop into too excessive, resulting in a decline within the variety of miners and a subsequent lower in safety.

1/9) BTC has to double in worth each 4 years for the subsequent century or maintain extraordinarily excessive charges

Just to keep up the present stage of safety

Such progress is inconceivable since it might exceed international GDP in 31 years primarily based on present worth

Therefore; BTC safety is doomed!

— Justin Bons (@Justin_Bons) April 23, 2023

To put it merely, Bitcoin’s safety is inextricably linked to its worth, and if the worth continues to rise at its present tempo, it should finally develop into unsustainable. Bons means that BTC might must discover a new resolution to keep up its safety or danger turning into a sufferer of its success.

Furthermore, Bons argues that Bitcoin’s safety and technical basis are “made out of the sand” and that the cryptocurrency’s progress mannequin relies on “false hope.” He means that paying a whole bunch of {dollars} for a single transaction is unrealistic in a aggressive market and that when charges spike, customers depart, resulting in a decline within the community’s total safety.

Bons additionally blames the pointless addition of the block dimension restrict for exacerbating the issue. He argues that this restrict has created a free market vulnerable to spikes and volatility and has led to a decline in Bitcoin’s total safety.

Will BTC Have More Options In The Future

Ultimately, Bons’ evaluation means that if BTC’s progress trajectory continues at its present tempo, there’ll come the purpose the place the community’s safety price range will run out utterly, leaving it weak to censorship and double-spending.

According to Bons, solely two decisions might be left: permitting censorship and double spending to happen because the community will get 51% attacked or growing BTC’s provide inflation past the 21 million limits. Bons suggests the latter is the best choice, although each choices will seemingly happen because the community forks.

However, it’s necessary to notice that not all consultants may agree with Bons’ evaluation. Some might argue that Bitcoin’s safety may be maintained even when its progress slows. Others counsel that new applied sciences just like the Lightning Network may also help scale back transaction prices and preserve safety.

The Lightning Network is a second-layer fee protocol constructed on the Bitcoin blockchain. It was designed to deal with some scalability points Bitcoin faces, notably the gradual transaction processing occasions and excessive charges related to on-chain transactions.

The Lightning Network creates a community of fee channels between two events, permitting them to transact with one another off-chain. Smart contracts safe these fee channels and facilitate a number of microtransactions between the events with out broadcasting every transaction to the Bitcoin community.

While the Lightning Network is just not a whole resolution to Bitcoin’s scalability points, it represents a major step ahead in enhancing the effectivity and value of the Bitcoin community. As such, it should seemingly play an more and more necessary function in the way forward for Bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies.

Featured picture from Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com