Roger Ver: Why do I think 2017 will be the best year for Bitcoin?

Bitcoin has been rising like an eagle in flight, and despite a slight dip during the Christmas season, it has since rebounded strongly to nearly $1,000.

In fact, next month will mark eight years since the first Bitcoin block was mined.

In less than a week, the price of Bitcoin has risen by more than 12%. Based on a number of factors, the outlook for 2017 is bright. Bitcoin experts believe that the upward trend of this cryptocurrency will continue unabated as we enter 2017.

‘Bitcoin Jesus’ and Bitcoin.com owner Roger Ver thinks there are good reasons to believe that 2017 will make Bitcoin’s best year yet. The savvy cryptocurrency investor was very optimistic in an interview that 2017 will bring some great things to Bitcoin that have never happened before.

Will Bitcoin ETF be officially launched in 2017?

For several years, the cryptocurrency community has been eagerly waiting for regulators to give the green light to Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), thereby promoting Bitcoin into the mainstream of the financial industry. However, the fate of ETFs is currently elusive. This is reminiscent of the EFT that the Winklevoss brothers applied to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as early as mid-2013.

Many people believe that if ETF becomes a reality in 2017, the Bitcoin industry will enter a golden age. However, some others believe that it will never happen. However, Roger firmly believes that Bitcoin ETF can be realized in 2017 and will bring unprecedented positive impact to Bitcoin.

“An ETF has been a possibility since day one, but regulators have repeatedly delayed and denied millions of people the ability to easily participate in the Bitcoin economy through financial instruments they are already familiar with.”

Block size challenge

Bitcoin’s biggest struggle right now and the most heated debate of 2016 is the Bitcoin block size. 2016 is almost over and there is still no sign of any agreement. The slow transaction speed is pushing many people and businesses to other altcoins.

Roger believes that whether a hard fork will take place in 2017 is a difficult question to answer.

“That’s the $15 billion question. I wish I could give you a definitive answer, but we don’t know. But it’s worth saying that a hard fork can also be called a protocol upgrade by another name.”

Although the community has optimistic expectations for Bitcoin in 2017, the block size issue remains a mystery. However, it is not all pessimism, as there are already Bitcoin Unlimited, Segregated Witness and other solutions available.

Security Question

On the other hand, the rise in Bitcoin prices is also attracting hackers to attack exchanges. Bitfinex was hacked this year due to a multi-signature failure, losing nearly $70 million worth of Bitcoin.

Community members are worried that the attack on Bitcoin exchanges will cause the price of Bitcoin to fall and scare away users and investors. However, Roger does not think so at all.

“Given that no single exchange has a large market share, I don’t think individual exchange attacks are likely to have a long-term impact on prices.”

Bitcoin will regulate governments

One notable trend in 2016 was the 180-degree turn in the attitude of governments around the world towards Bitcoin, which was legalized and regulated. After years of banning Bitcoin, countries like Russia and Vietnam now recognize that Bitcoin is unstoppable.

Japan also recently announced that it would soon remove taxes on Bitcoin transactions and purchases, news that was warmly welcomed by the Asian Bitcoin community.

Will national regulators impose more regulations on Bitcoin in 2017? Roger answered with caution as always:

“Of course, that’s their job. But ultimately it’s going to be Bitcoin regulating the government, not the government regulating Bitcoin.”