The global desire for change seems to be growing. It looks like the people just want something different, no matter what. These recent developments have coincided with the recent rise in Bitcoin price and awareness.
Examples include events such as Brexit, the U.S. elections and even the general elections in Nigeria, after which Bitcoin awareness has become overwhelming in the African nation.
“History has shown us many times that when the economy and the official currency have struggled, people were seeking alternatives,” says Alena Vranova, co-founder and CEO at SatoshiLabs.
With the populist and protectionist candidates gaining popularity in the runup to elections in France and Austria, and at the same time the furor around Brexit intensifying, another surge in Bitcoin price may be just around the corner if history is anything to go by.
Events drive investors
Dana Coe, director at Bitlox, thinks that the price of Bitcoin will most certainly go up in the near future. Coe’s opinion stems from the fact that a lot of people now see the cryptocurrency as a safe haven.
Coe tells Cointelegraph:
“It is the perception of these geopolitical events that drives what individual investors will do. Almost all change from the established geopolitical norm is intensely cast by the major media outlets in a negative and fearful light, and people will most certainly react by attempting to bring their assets into safety.”
Coe also notes that casting Bitcoin in the role of a stable store of value will bring investors into the ecosystem, paradoxically driving the price up in the interim. This development, he says, will give the cryptocurrency a more speculative appearance rather than just a store of value.
“This would not dissuade people from using Bitcoin as a long-term store of value, at least as a portion of their strategy,” he concludes.
Government approach obsolete
Alena Vranova thinks that the unfolding geopolitical events will undoubtedly affect the status of Bitcoin, both in areas such as its exchange rate and also its legal status.
Vranova postulates the possibilities of an increasing struggle for freedom, intensifying migration, capital controls and states in warfare. However, she also foresees an increasing number of people declining their support for current affairs and tyrannical governments. She concludes by saying:
“The traditional nation state does not exist anymore. Its power is being derogated and decentralized through the global network of the Internet. The governments should review their optics and start to actually serve their citizens, that's their original purpose. Otherwise tools like private money and global networks of communities allow for easy arbitrage.”