Crypto trends: what awaits bitcoin in 2023

We are trying to figure out what challenges the first cryptocurrency may face in the new 2023 and what factors will affect the BTC rate. More regulation While crypto enthusiasts like El Salvador President Nayib Bukele are convinced that decentralized digital cash should be legalized, others are pushing for more regulation.. For example, American politician Elizabeth Warren publicly opposes BTC.. She proposes a new draft law on money laundering (AML) through digital assets, seriously restricting the use of cryptocurrencies. And even if this particular bill is not passed, the number of such initiatives continues to increase.. With a high probability, centralized crypto exchanges and crypto providers will increasingly be forced to provide information about transactions made by their clients to special agencies, including within the framework of financial measures against money laundering (FATF). On the other hand, it is worth remembering that politicians once opposed Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, that is, they wanted to ban popular programs like Skype.. Now they are using them with might and main.. Probably something similar will happen with bitcoin.. Well, where it will be recognized as a free medium of circulation and where services will be provided for people in cryptocurrency, there will be a good investment climate for crypto investors and entrepreneurs. And the countries that legalized the cryptocurrency among the first may in the future become new “crypto offshore zones”. Central Bank Digital Currencies The war for cash continues as large denominations of banknotes are withdrawn from circulation in many countries or there is a ban on cash transactions above a certain limit. Although in most countries of the world there is neither a technical nor a single economic component that would ensure the introduction of CBDC as early as 2023, some experts believe. Moreover, economist Richard Werner is convinced that this technology is “a declaration of war against the traditional banking system.” 2023 will be devoted to public discussions and preparations for the mass introduction of the digital currency of central banks. In wealthy countries, governments can force people to use state-owned cryptocurrencies, for example, under the pretext: “If you want social security, we will provide it in the form of CBDC.” In some sense, the digital currency of central banks threatens financial freedom and privacy.. At the very least, this form of electronic money is fundamentally different from a classic cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, with its limited emission, lack of a central bank, decentralization and some kind of anonymity.. Early crypto-anarchists and cypherpunks conceived of cryptocurrency as a tool for privacy. If governments start introducing CBDC in earnest, then, according to some forecasts, more and more people will be interested in bitcoin and technical solutions like the Lightning Network just to preserve their financial freedom. Bitcoin maximalists and non-custodial storage Some of the usual crypto enthusiasts who failed on platforms like Celsius, BlockFi, FTX, Vauld, eventually joined the list of so-called “bitcoin maximalists”. And, to be honest, this process is cyclical.. The bearish trend of 2014 and 2015 was largely the result of the bankruptcy of the Mt.Gox exchange. Well, during the bearish cycle of 2018 and 2019, we saw the collapse of QuadrigaCX. Thus, the current collapse of the FTX exchange is not a new and unique event in the market.. People once again gain experience, facing difficulties. In return, they receive new knowledge related to the safe storage of cryptocurrency, delve more into the very nature of Bitcoin, how exactly a real digital currency works. In 2023, we will see an increase in the popularity of non-custodial storage. The trend arose in 2022 against the backdrop of a massive outflow of capital from crypto exchanges. Users learned a serious lesson from the FTX story, and even such famous personalities as the head of Binance called on centralized exchanges to deliberately publish information on reserves.. However, this does not mean that the situation will eliminate financial losses in the future.. More and more new people will come to the industry, who, due to poor preparation or regular crypto winters, will suffer losses. Already, many services are publishing instructions and even holding webinars on non-custodial storage.. There is a high demand for it. But how will this affect the course of the leading cryptocurrency? On the one hand, the massive outflow of crypto from large trading platforms will significantly reduce liquidity.. But, on the other hand, non-custodial storage is a natural way to protect your savings and secure against the next collapses like FTX, which means avoiding another bearish trend. Network problem The problem of high mempool load has been discussed by various experts over the past years. The debate over “full RBF” (replace-by-fee) as one of the ways to solve the problem stirred the public at the end of 2022. Against this background, interest in Lightning technology, which is being integrated by more and more services, may increase.. For example, support for such bitcoin payments was added to the Cash App in the fall. Bitcoin's low bandwidth is what historically the first cryptocurrency has been criticized for. The problem can be partially solved through this service, and, probably, with the growing popularity of bitcoin and the growing number of simultaneous transactions, more and more users will be interested in it.. Of course, the high load on the mempool and the transaction queue creates inconvenience for ordinary users.. But so far, even peak loads on the network have not prevented BTC from reaching new historical highs in value over time.. Probably, BTC is increasingly being considered not as a means of payment and instant equivalent exchange, but as an investment object. Popular BTC communities and events We are now seeing an increase in the number of major Bitcoin events and small conferences around the world. More and more people are discovering cryptocurrency and BTC as the most popular and demanded electronic cash.. The significance of such events should not be underestimated, analysts say.. Conferences allow not only to popularize BTC, but also to become new “centers of cooperation”, where enthusiasts from all over the world really exchange experience. With the growing interest in non-custodial storage, more people will discover exactly how cryptocurrency works.. In the long term, this is highly likely to have a positive impact on the BTC rate. Overall result From all of the above, we can assume that the cost of BTC in 2023 will remain flat.. Of course, a number of crypto enthusiasts are counting on an imminent bullish trend, but the massive withdrawal of cryptocurrencies from exchanges, low liquidity, the growing popularity of non-custodial wallets for long-term storage and tightening industry regulation speak in favor of poor dynamics.. Some analysts believe that a certain time must pass before bitcoin starts to grow. On the other hand, for bitcoin optimists (and even more maximalists) there is a time of opportunity. The price is far from the historical maximum. In general, in relation to the rate of the first cryptocurrency in the world, predicting something is quite a thankless task due to volatility. Especially to talk about what will happen in a year, when you don’t really know what to expect tomorrow. Therefore, there are various theories about the value of BTC for 2023. For example, well-known enthusiast Tim Draper is extremely optimistic in his forecast. According to him, bitcoin will cost $250,000 by the end of 2023.. The forecast is exciting, though there is one “But”. By the end of 2022, Draper predicted the same numbers: $250,000. How it ended, everyone knows. On the other hand, many investors are convinced that the growth will be associated with the upcoming halving in 2024, which will cut the current block reward (and thus emission) in half, reducing the influx of new coins into the market. Standard Chartered thinks otherwise. According to their specialists, the sale of BTC will continue in 2023, and the price will drop to $5,000. They believe that bankruptcies of crypto firms will continue in the new year, profitability from mining will also be unattractive, and therefore investors will not be enthusiastic. As you can see, experts disagree about the value of BTC by about 50 times. At the beginning of 2023, bitcoin grew slightly, breaking the bar of $18,000, which gave hope to cryptocurrency supporters. However, it is too early to draw far-reaching conclusions, let alone say that the bearish trend in the market is over.