The nature of the bitcoin ecosystem makes it difficult for evolution to take place.

Bitcoin was created as part of an anti-establishment movement to democratize money by creating digital currencies. Enter politics and you have a recipe for a problem of Mad Max proportions.

Despite a few missteps, occasional fraud and the usual small number of bad actors, bitcoin has generally been on a positive growth curve for nearly nine years.

As it grows, problems of scale, environmental impact, expectations and the need for security also grow.

The “Mad Max” problem

ING’s Teunis Brosens calls cryptocurrency’s present state a “Mad Max problem.” That is, bitcoin has challenges evolving from simple code into something more robust, scalable and valuable.

Network congestion is growing. the cost of bitcoin transactions via bitcoin mining is increasing. Using bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies for payments is still more complex than necessary.  Bitcoin’s market cap is approaching the stratosphere that some are calling a potential bubble.

And you thought you had troubles?

System upgrades, patches and innovations shouldn’t be this difficult with all the programming talent available.  But you’re dealing with the world of cyber idealists, bitcoin miners, potential regulators.

All of these factors have Bitcoin Cash rising and the original Bitcoin dropping  while the market sorts itself out.

Politics and competing interests ensure that it will be a roller coaster ride until there is more collaboration and cooperation to help bitcoin evolve.

You can read more about bitcoin sustainability at Bloomberg.com below.

Bitcoin’s Boom Is Unsustainable In More Ways Than One

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-13/bitcoin-s-boom-is-unsustainable-in-more-ways-than-oneThe tumble in value of the granddaddy of crypto-currencies, from about $7,300 to just more than $5,600, is testament to its biggest sustainability problem: An inability to evolve as a piece of code without tearing itself apart. Via bloomberg.com