Would Bitcoin and its blockchain be able to handle mainstream adoption as a store of value without requiring second-layer solutions? Genesis Mining’s head of mining operations, Philip Salter, holds a mixed view. 

“I think Bitcoin is a good store of value regardless of transaction fees,” Salter told Cointelegraph. “The issue is — the higher the fees are the larger is also the minimum value that can be efficiently transferred.”

Bitcoin (BTC) has stood the test of time up to this point, with BTC maintaining its place as the crypto industry’s highest market cap asset for the past 12 years. Bitcoin is seen as more of a store of value than digital cash these days, however, and Salter thinks complications may still arise from this shift in perceptions:

“Some years ago it was possible to store and transmit $1 efficiently, since tx fees were effectively zero. Currently, sending a transaction can easily cost $15, so it is not sensible to transmit $1 any more. If this trend continues due to more use of BTC and higher BTC prices, it will become prohibitive to transfer value in common amounts and it will be only an effective store of value for very large amounts.”

“That’s why I think that 2nd Layer solutions are a necessity not only for the use of BTC as a currency but also for the long term feasibility of BTC as a store of value,” Salter added. Industry players have worked on layer-two scaling solutions, such as Lightning Network, in an effort to facilitate small transaction capabilities.

Salter himself uses Lightning Network solutions for his own Bitcoin endeavors. “I personally upgraded my personal phone wallet to a lightning-only wallet (Phoenix), so that I can even in these crazy times pay with coins quickly and cheaply,” he said. “To anyone who tried to use lightning two years ago and found it confusing, I strongly suggest that you give it another try now that it’s far more established and user friendly to use.”

Bitcoin’s scaling debate was a focal point of discussion in 2017 and 2018. In September 2020, MicroStrategy said it faced no major issues during one of its BTC accumulations. The firm bought 38,250 BTC using a combination of off-chain and on-chain avenues.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/genesis-mining-head-forecasts-importance-of-layer-two-bitcoin-solutions

Experts often say the altcoins rally with Bitcoin, and even fall with it. On 21 January, Longhash revealed that in the last seven days, 92% of crypto tokens “outperformed Bitcoin.”

Bitcoin rallied to new ATHs and has remained over the $30,000 range, which still accounted for less volatility compared to previous rallies. However, with increasing prices, and FUD taking over traders, the asset seems to be facing a period of stagnation, at least for now. In the past week, the asset’s price fell 12% against the dollar.

Based on Messari’s price data, Longhash tracked 69 crypto tokens — each of which daily reported trading volume of about $100 million. Among these, 66% of tokens’ prices increased in the past week, and over half of the 46 tokens that gained against the dollar increased more than 10%.

A mere 33% of tokens’ prices went down against the dollar. Specifically, prices of five tokens, including Wrapped BTC, Dash, Bitcoin SC, Zcash, and Maker fell by much more.

Source: Longhash/Messari

Longhash data stated that Bitcoin “has seen one of the most dramatic drops,” among tokens that have been falling over the week. However, experts predict the current dip in BTC prices is a temporary setback before the asset rallies to bigger numbers.

Days after ECB President called for regulating Bitcoin because of its association to illegitimate activities, the asset gained a new critic, which could have fueled FUD. Recently, President Biden’s pick for Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, believed that cryptocurrencies “are a particular concern.”

Although altcoins seem to perform better than Bitcoin, at the moment, no crypto would be able to replace Bitcoin, given its large market capitalization. For instance, Ethereum was up 22% against Bitcoin in the past week, but as Longhash noted, “Ether’s market cap could quadruple and it would still be behind Bitcoin.”

In the last 24 hours, about $1 billion in crypto was liquidated and Bitcoin has been down by roughly 7%. The asset was trading at $32,043.96 at press time. Further, whales were depositing Bitcoin to exchanges, which could further influence prices, according to CryptoQuant’s Ki Young Ju:

Whales are depositing $BTC to exchanges.

No doubt it’ll hit $100k this year, but in the short-term, if we wouldn’t see any significant buying pressure from @CoinbasePro, I think $BTC would be bearish.

Should keep eyes on Coinbase outflow and Coinbase Premium(will launch by tmr) pic.twitter.com/kotHydfxfM

— Ki Young Ju 주기영 (@ki_young_ju) January 20, 2021

Source: https://ambcrypto.com/90-of-these-altcoins-outperformed-bitcoin-recently