Ashley Stanley: Bitcoin Gains Steam, Mainstream Appeal

Bitcoin is growing in popularity, and gaining ground in mainstream markets, says Ashley Stanley.

By Ashley Stanley
Special Contributor

The intersection of digital money and traditional finance occurred over the weekend in Chicago, as the first major U.S. exchange offered a product targeted toward Bitcoin: Bitcoin futures. If you’re new to the market, there’s a lot to learn. Bitcoin users are doubling every 12 months. That might seem wild and crazy, but it’s supported by data. If this trend continues, we are less than a decade away from half the world using Bitcoin.

I’ve been trading Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) since April of this year. Now joining the list of “altcoins,” or alternative cryptocurrencies, is Cardano (ADA) and Litecoin (LTC). I quickly realized the need to assist my cryptocurrency friends since there is typically a two- to three-day delay in exchanging digital money, and everyone knows in the apartment industry that hot units go fast!

Should this be a mainstream “ah-ha” moment?

In 2013, they called Bitcoin drug money. In 2017, they called it a bubble, but Bitcoin is not just money. It’s the invention of a digital scarcity. The idea that one thing is finite, has been, thus far not applicable to the digital realm, until the arrival of Bitcoin. Nearly anything digital in nature can be duplicated due to the ease of reproducing computer code, but the problem of double-spending was the unsolved mystery of digital money. However, the innovation of the blockchain ledger has added a potent function to the equation of online exchange: digital scarcity.

Disagree with me? Pop culture has jumped on the bandwagon. The Big Bang Theory, Howard Stern, and Saturday Night Live recently referenced Bitcoin. Maybe it’s time for you to check it out — Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.

And when you’re ready to spend it on your next apartment, I’ll be here.

Ashley Stanley is a downtown Dallas resident and entrepreneur. She’s a law student, real estate mediator, licensed Realtor, and the owner of AshleysApartments.com. Her opinions are her own.