Coinbase CEO Makes Stark Warns Bitcoin Has Serious Challenges

The enthusiasm for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies around the world is growing exponentially even though the price of bitcoin has fallen as much as 60% this year and over 70% down from its historic highs.  Now some shocking revelations are coming forward.

Makes Stark the CEO of San Francisco-based Coinbase, which is one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has warned that widespread, mass bitcoin adoption for payments is going to be a long time coming. Right now no efficient system will allow vendors to sell products and services and accept payment in bitcoin much less any other cryptocurrency.

The inability to easily buy products in your local supermarket, mall or even Amazon makes and as a result their illiquidity has long been a fundamental problem with bitcoin living up to its promises. This illiquidity issues added to the growing evidence $100+ million bitcoins and cryptocurrencies have been stolen because of storage issues that have resulted in owners of bitcoin losing almost $100 million in Bitcoin valuation. The confusion and losses have served to drive bitcoin’s price to just over $6,000 from a market high of approximately. The psychological impact of bitcoin dipping below the $6,000 psychological barrier twice, for the second time this year has many competing cryptocurrencies take a sympathetic nosedive.

A Starbucks spokesperson said after it was announced the international fast growing coffee chain was involved with a new cryptocurrency venture called Bakkt.  A spokesman said:

“Customers will not be able to pay for Frappuccinos with bitcoin,”

This comes as no surprise because only 10% of cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, are used in real life, in games and other purchases online and is almost never used in everyday store shopping. Proponents of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies insist that cryptocurrency adoption we are at the same point in time as the internet was in 1994. Those assurances, however, don’t discourage concerns over the possibility of bitcoin equivalent of the dot-com bubble in the future.

The entire concept of cryptocurrencies is new and the underlying and surrounding technology that makes it possible has already put the new form of wealth through a few severe bubbles and corrections. However, each of these corrections in the past has resulted in dramatic recoveries. Investors, merchants are just becoming acquainted with cryptocurrencies has become almost universal – even if most people don’t understand the risks and limitations of the new form of wealth.

Still, the slow rollout of payments systems hasn’t killed the enthusiasm over bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies experts are still predicting billions of people around the world will eventually use bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Experts in this area insist there will be more adjustments to the market and short-term pain periods for investors but the future remains bright for bitcoin and many cryptocurrencies as people become more familiar and comfortable with them.

Even though countries like Japan, China, and Iran are fighting the use of cryptocurrencies with regulations and in the case of Iran banning them entirely the fact is that most countries in the free world are quickly adopting their use.

Some experts have opined that countries are going through economic turmoil like Venezuela and now Turkey that’s facing a showdown with the U.S. will likely make the strongest use of these untraceable forms of exchange.

Coinbase exchange allowed its clients to buy and sell $150 billion worth of cryptocurrency in 2017. Bloomberg reports that Coinbase has been signing up 50,000 new customers a day last year.