Challenges And Opportunities For Bitcoin In 2016

Opportunities

You can already accrue interest on Bitcoins on exchanges like OKCoin (“P2P Lending”), but I hope we’re seeing safer opportunities to make some money with Bitcoin in 2016.Winklevoss ETF might finally go live.

Legality

Russia has proposed a law making Bitcoin illegal that is likely becoming a law in 2016.China might also take action against Bitcoin trading and/or mining in 2016 as it is being used to bypass currency controls. Mining might also be a factor contributing to the environmental issues of China. US and EU might also come up with new regulations.

Protocol

BIP101 can be activated in 2016, which allows for more growth in Bitcoin. You can support BIP101 by running Bitcoin XT at home or on servers.The block subsidy is reduced to 12.5 BTC - this means that the number of new coins going in circulation is reduced, but it might become a problem for mining pools.The core team is rather unproductive and XT will need more developers for Bitcoin to be successful in 2016.

Abuse

Blockchain Alliance might help reducing the impact of fraudulent investment schemes and darknet abuse.